Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

Pharmacists take their ethical responsibility seriously and all evidence suggests that is the case. If anyone can show me anywhere in the world where it costs €600 million to bring €1 billion worth of drugs to patients, I will be very surprised. We have put in place a regime for the reimbursement of the retail pharmacy sector which is just not sustainable. As new drugs come on the market for cancer and other ailments, it is important we have access to those drugs. We have a finite resource available for health care and we must ensure that we deliver those drugs to patients in the most cost-effective way, remunerating the professional skills, educational competence and training which pharmacists have, but also delivering appropriate value for money for patients, the pharmacy sector and the taxpayer.