asked the Minister for Health what progress has been made towards establishing a service whereby drugs and medicines for all persons will be issued through retail pharmaceutical chemists; if he still estimates the date of commencement of the new service some time after the middle of 1970; and if it will commence before the end of that year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Supply of Drugs and Medicines.
5.
Agreement has been reached with the drug manufacturers and wholesalers about the conditions on which they will participate in the new arrangements for the supply of drugs and medicines under the choice of doctor scheme. Discussions with the retail chemists have reached an advanced stage and I would hope that it would soon be possible to complete them.
Because of the delay in the legislative programme due to the last general election it will not now be possible to introduce the scheme during the present year but planning is proceeding on the assumption that it will be possible to do so on 1st April, 1971.
Is there any legal difficulty at the moment in the implementation of the scheme of distribution through the retail pharmacists? My information is that there is no difficulty legally in doing this—that it can be done now if the Minister only has the will to do it.
There are no legal difficulties. It is simply a question of time. It involves cost to the Exchequer. We have a very big programme to implement. The choice of doctor administration has to be put into operation and completed before there is much point in making drugs available to retail chemists. The two things go together.
The Minister admitted to me that they do not go together. The new Health Bill is not needed to do this.
It is convenient to have them together.