Vol. 559 No. 1
304 Ms M. Wallace asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the expected result from the Mortell report which is due in January 2003; if the report will be submitted on time; the terms of reference of the group; the expected solutions that may be found; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25399/02]
The pharmacy review group, chaired by Professor Michael Mortell, was established by me in November 2001 to review the pharmacy regulations. Its full terms of references are as follows: facilitating the provision, maintenance and development of a high quality pharmacy service to service recipients; maximising the potential to increase competition within the sector with a view to ensuring lower prices and improved services to the consumer as envisaged in the OECD report on regulatory reform in Ireland; assessing and responding to the recommendations in the OECD report on the current restrictions on pharmacists educated in other EU countries with a view to enabling this country to discontinue the derogation incorporated in article 2.2 of Council Directive 85/433/EEC on the free movement of pharmacists; ensuring that the opening hours of pharmacies facilitate consumers and meet all reasonable health needs of the population in its area; assessing the extent to which the 1996 regulations, together with the community pharmacy contract, have achieved their objectives in regard to locating new pharmacies in remote or disadvantaged areas and their impact on the quality of the service provided by the pharmacists to the public; taking full account of pharmacy regulation in other jurisdictions; taking full account of the wider regulatory framework in which pharmacy operates; considering how a universal service and public service obligation can be identified and met and assessing any funding consequences which may arise.
The group has based its approach on the principles set out by the Mandelkern group for evidence-based policy formulation in the Mandelkern group on better regulation final report, 13 November 2001. These include public and interest group consultation; analysis of the existing position (ex-post analysis); and analysis of possible options (ex-ante analysis). The group consulted widely and, in particular, with consumer interests. The data-based ex-post analysis of the regulations, which were revoked by me in January 2002, following legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General, has been completed, and pharmacy models developed by the group are currently undergoing ex-ante analysis. The group is on schedule to complete its task and report to me in January 2003, at which stage the outcome of its deliberations will be known.
