I propose to take Questions Nos. 385, 400, 453, 481, 554, 555, 563 and 651 together.
My Department is considering the legal, financial and service implications of the recent High Court judgement for the payments made to community pharmacists, as well as its potential wider implications in respect of other self-employed health professionals. My understanding is the judgement confirmed that I have the power to alter the payments made under the 1996 Community Pharmacy Contract after consultation with the Irish Pharmacy Union.
The report of the Independent Body on Pharmacy Contract Pricing dealt with the pricing of an interim contract which had been offered to community pharmacists following the reduction in the wholesale margin. It was published on my Department's website last July.
I have had various meetings with the pharmacy sector, including the IPU, but I have not met the IPU since the High Court judgement. I will be decide how best to proceed having considered the legal and other advice available to me. However, I remain of the view that the costs of pharmacy services under the GMS and community drugs schemes are not sustainable, a view that is reinforced by the current budgetary challenges.