Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to note that voting will take place between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. tomorrow and not between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.

I refer to the Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012. It presents an opportunity to undertake innovative reform of our commercial rates system. A levy on multiples was introduced in April 2012 in Northern Ireland, which has become known colloquially as the "Tesco tax". The change introduced brings about a re-evaluation of rates on commercial premises with a rateable value in excess of £500,000.

I raised the matter on the Adjournment in early February. At that time the Minister and the Department were not for moving. We all can play a part in influencing policy. This is a welcome policy-decision change and it is the right decision. I also thank the media for giving space to highlight the issue and showing that there is a significant advantage in retaining this valuable information of over 1 million heel-prick test or Guthrie cards. A proper structure should be put in place to ensure that the data is properly protected. I welcome the change by the Minister and the Department.

While on health issues, I would ask that we have a debate on the issue of the cost of medication and drugs. We have already seen two comprehensive reports on one of the national newspapers. It compared the cost of drugs in this country and in other countries and reported they were 25 times dearer here than in the UK. It is time we had a detailed debate on this issue, particularly now that we are seeing a difference in price not only between this country and other countries, but between different areas of the country such as Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, and even within cities and towns. The cost of drugs in this country increased from ¤574 million in 2000 to ¤1.894 billion in 2010, a 230% increase. They will cost us ¤2 billion this year. It is time we had a serious debate on this issue and worked towards bringing down the cost of medication and drugs in this country to make them affordable for citizens and to ensure that there is a proper pricing system.