Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
1321. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health the number of pharmacies that were inspected by PSI inspectors in 2012 and 2013; of these inspections the number that were performed by two authorised officers and the number by one authorised officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17474/13]
View answerThe Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) is an independent statutory body, established by the Pharmacy Act 2007. It is charged with, and is accountable for, the effective regulation of pharmacists and pharmacies in Ireland, including responsibility for supervising compliance with the Act.
Under section 19 of the Act, inspections by authorised officers of the PSI may be undertaken in respect of applications for registration or continued registration of a retail pharmacy business. Under section 67, inspections and investigations may be undertaken to ascertain whether an offence under the Act, any breach of a Code of Conduct or any professional misconduct has been committed and for obtaining information or evidence about these matters.
The PSI conducted 172 inspections in 2012, of which 97 were under section 19 and 75 were under section 67 of the Act. Twenty of these inspections were conducted by two or more authorised officers, and 152 by one authorised officer.
The PSI has conducted 156 inspections to date in 2013, of which 21 were under section 19 and 135 were under section 67 of the Act. One hundred and fifty one of these inspections were carried out by one authorised officer and 5 were conducted by one authorised officer accompanied by an authorised officer in training.
