Feargal Quinn (Independent)

My attention has been drawn to the very high price the public pays for pharmacy goods here, be they over-the-counter or prescription medicines, compared to what the public pays in other countries. It is due to legislation produced here, not EU legislation. Perhaps the Leader would invite the Minister for Health to the House to discuss this. It is quite confusing that a large number of products that are available over-the-counter in other countries are prescription products here. That means people must pay to go to a doctor to get the prescription and then pay the price of the product, which in many cases is a multiple of what is charged elsewhere. It applies to a large number of products. I can understand why anti-depressant products are prescription only, as they could be addictive. However, one can go into an off-licence and buy ten or 12 bottles of vodka, which is a far bigger problem, but one cannot buy Solpadeine and some other products even though only a tiny number of people could be addicted to them.

I do not know the answer to this problem, only that Irish people pay a price for many of these products that is a multiple of the price elsewhere. Part of the reason is that the products have been put on prescription instead of being sold over the counter. As a result the pharmacists do not have the choice or freedom to do otherwise. A large number of generic products can be sold in pharmacies in other countries but we do not appear to have that freedom here. We do not permit the advertising of products sold behind the prescription counter. I understand why we do that but the matter is worthy of debate, especially when many products that are sold over the counter in the North of Ireland and in Britain cannot be sold here except on prescription.