I thank the committee for giving the Irish Pharmacy Union, the representative body for over 1,800 community pharmacists, the opportunity to address them on the issue of building new retail outlets. I will not introduce the members of the delegation because the Chairman has done so.
Community pharmacists are health care professionals, with an expertise in medicine, who play a vital role in health care delivery. The community pharmacist is the most accessed part of the health service; in Ireland people visit the pharmacy twice a month, on average. People do not need an appointment for this and they get access to expert health care knowledge. The majority of pharmacies are small, family-run businesses that are located in villages and small to medium-sized towns. They employ over 16,000 people in this country. Pharmacy is one of the few parts of the health service that works well and it is, therefore, vital that we have a rational and planned distribution of pharmacies, which will meet the needs of our population.
The retail planning guidelines do not contain specific provisions relating to the planning and spatial considerations associated with pharmacies. They do not restrict competition in the pharmacy market. Evidence of this exists in the increase in the number of pharmacies in recent years. Indeed, Ireland is the most liberal pharmacy market in Europe.
The restrictions in the retail planning guidelines on the size of out-of-town retail developments have helped preserve town centres. Out-of-town hypermarkets would lead to the closure of local shops and job losses. They would force people to travel longer distances to access essential services. This would lead to greater car dependency and would create major problems for people who do not have access to a car. Therefore, we ask the committee to consider making a recommendation that current restrictions on the location and size of out-of-town retail developments be maintained.
In recent years there have been moves by private developers to build large out-of-town health centres with on-site pharmacies. Such developments involve the majority and sometimes all the general practitioners in an area relocating to a single out-of-town health centre with an on-site pharmacy. This type of development has a negative social, health, environmental and economic impact. As with large out-of-town retail developments, out-of-town health centres with on-site pharmacies will have a negative impact on town centres and reduce footfall, not just to pharmacies but to all local businesses. Ultimately, people's access to essential services, including GP and pharmacy services, will be greatly reduced. Those most affected will be the most vulnerable in society — the elderly, the chronically ill, parents with young children and those without access to a car.
The Government's primary health care strategy did not encourage the locating of pharmacies in health centres. Pharmacies were part of the primary care network and were located in the community with links to primary health care teams. The HSE's primary care guidance document states: "Where the HSE develops primary care facilities on its own property a retail pharmacy outlet will not be included in the schedule of accommodation." The Oireachtas endorsed this position by passing the Pharmacy Act 2007, which prohibits inappropriate business relationships between doctors and pharmacies.
Significant changes have occurred in the provision of pharmacy and medical services since the last comprehensive review of the retail planning guidelines in 2000. These changes have not been reflected in national planning policy and this has resulted in a vacuum in the policy. There is now an urgent need for a clear policy on the location of pharmacies in the retail planning guidelines at national level, in the interests of proper planning and sustainable development. This would permeate down through the planning hierarchy to local level and be reflected in decisions on individual planning applications. It needs to be made explicit that the overall policies, objectives and assessment criteria outlined in the retail planning guidelines apply to pharmacies. In particular, the sequential approach to the location of retail development should apply to pharmacies. This requires that the preferred location for new retail development, including pharmacies, be within the designated town, district, village or local centre. All these centres would then be identified in the relevant development plan for an area.
We ask the committee to consider recommending that policy objectives relating to pharmacies be included in the retail planning guidelines to recognise that pharmacies perform an essential social, health and economic function in catering for the needs of local communities. Pharmacies should, therefore, not be located in health centres and this is in accordance with Government policy. They should be located within designated local, district, town and city centres so that they are easily accessible to the most vulnerable in society. A provision to this effect should be included in the criteria governing the location of retail development in the retail planning guidelines.
I thank members for their attention and would be happy to answer any questions they may have.
