Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is no problem at all. I second Senator Sherlock's amendment to the Order of Business if it is in order to do so. I will raise with the Leader an issue that has increasingly been raised with me in recent weeks. A lack of availability of prescription drugs is causing customers of many of our Irish pharmacies a lot of concern. It is also causing concern for a number of pharmacists and pharmacies who have contacted me. A number of these pharmacies have described this lack of availability as a crisis. The pharmacies I have spoken to have questioned the HSE's pricing structure, which they say makes this country a less favourable market for pharmacy companies simply because they get paid a higher price in other countries. With the additional problems of Brexit and logistical problems caused by Covid, many customers are receiving calls from their pharmacies telling them that there is a delay with their usual brand of medication. Pharmacies are also ringing customers' GPs to discuss alternative options. Many patients are worried about such changes and, for a number of reasons, some simply cannot take a different brand. We have all listened to reports of the ongoing and unacceptable problems with the availability of hormone replacement therapy medications that are currently affecting the daily lives of many women in this country. I ask the Leader to convene a debate in this Chamber on this significant and growing problem for many patients and their pharmacies. I ask her to invite the Minister for Health to the House to discuss this very important matter further.