Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue that pertains to the operation of small, community pharmacies throughout the State. It will also resonate with each and every Member in the House who understands how difficult it often is for independent pharmacies to survive in this kind of market. I understand that new rules have been developed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland that, if they are adopted through a statutory instrument under the 2007 Act, could seriously restrict the role, function and responsibilities of pharmacy assistants in the State. There are 355 pharmacy assistants, all of whom have particular kinds of qualifications that are recognised. These courses stopped quite a number of years ago. The majority of pharmacy assistants are women over the age of 55. If these proposals manage to migrate into a statutory instrument, which they are likely to over the next short period, these pharmacy assistants could find themselves out of work, with pharmacies throughout the State under severe pressure.My call today is for the Minister for Health, who I understand would be obligated to sign the statutory instrument, to review this situation and to understand that if this proceeds, it will cause absolute chaos and mayhem in small pharmacies up and down the country. There are people in this Chamber who are better qualified than I to speak about it, but I understand the problems it will cause. We are asking pharmacies to do more work these days. We are asking them to do more complex work and it is important that they are resourced to do that. The worst possible thing we could do is take qualified staff from them. What those staff want is a properly recognised framework for the kind of continuous professional development that they do anyway. I cannot see an upside to this. Nobody is advising to the contrary or as to why this is a positive thing. I ask the Minister to keep a watching brief on this, to be very cautious about how it proceeds and to ensure there is proper engagement to get under the bonnet as to why individual pharmaceutical assistants and the group that represents them are very concerned.

Members will be aware that new illness benefit forms came onstream in the middle of July without, as I understand, any consultation with the National Association of General Practitioners. I met with that association last week and understand from it that a mediation process was designed by the Department and then withdrawn. An eminent industrial relations professional with significant experience was commissioned to assist in the process to develop a framework whereby this issue could be addressed. The longer it goes on, the more delays we will experience in getting illness benefit applications processed. I appeal to those Senators who have influence with the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and, to a lesser extent, the Minister for Health, to try to ensure there is an intervention on this issue.

I am very pleased that the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection has put on record today at the Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection that payment of a Christmas bonus will be made this year to 1.2 million recipients of long-term social welfare payments. The statement that was issued to the committee yesterday was particularly vague and open to interpretation as to whether there would be a payment made at all this year. The Minister has put on record that a payment will be made. However, she has failed to state that the full Christmas bonus will be restored. I appeal to the Minister and her Fine Gael colleagues to use their good offices to make sure we have 100% restoration of the Christmas bonus to lighten the load for less well-off families as we approach the Christmas period.