Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I have no doubt she understands the position. She understands how critical the issue is. It is good to hear about the project that is in place and the scoping exercise but, honestly, it is far too late for that. This is a crisis and if the Government does not act, we will see community pharmacies cutting hours and not being open at crucial times. In rural areas, as mentioned by the Minister of State, the footfall is not as high as in urban areas so it can be very difficult for a business to be sustainable, which it needs to be.

This must be absolutely addressed urgently. We have thousands of highly qualified and skilled refugees arriving to our shores from Ukraine. We must look at the existing legislation to see how we can circumvent red tape and have these people working in our pharmacies. This is not just about the pharmacy sector but GP practices, primary care services and right across our health service. It is very important and we would see mutual benefits as well. The regulator must step in to address the website issue I described. The registration of pharmacists is very important and the project described by the Minister of State must be expedited.