Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

In response to Senator Prendergast's point, if fewer items are prescribed even more money will be saved because we will not be obliged to pay for the medication and it will not merely be a question of saving 50 cent. As we would not be obliged to pay for the medication in the first place, clearly, the savings would be greater. I assure the Senator that very few items, if any, are prescribed that cost 50 cent or less. Perhaps my officials might indicate whether any such medications exist but I am not aware of them and at the kind of prices I see, the cost is far from 50 cent. Clearly, were fewer items prescribed because of this measure and were better prescribing practices to be enforced, then even more money would be saved.

Although Senator Callely did not expect me to respond to his last comment, I make the point that I have thought carefully about this legislation. The recommendation in the McCarthy report was to impose a charge of €5 per prescription. The community welfare system in Ireland is very good because it is flexible to the needs of individuals in circumstances that can never be predicted to be enacted in law. Therefore, the community welfare officers respond to needs on a daily and weekly basis. I recently heard of a case of what could be broadly regarded as a woman who was connected with a very well-off person but whose circumstances were such that she required assistance for a temporary period, which was greatly appreciated. There must be a flexible system so that citizens can have access to the essentials, such as medication, food or whatever. This is the reason this system is in place. Although the officers in the community welfare system are attached to the Department of Health and Children, they are moving to the welfare system. This is long overdue because it constitutes genuine welfare support at ground level.