I must now deal with a postponed division relating to a motion re pharmacy fees. On Tuesday, 27 September 2016, on the question that the amendment to the motion be agreed to, a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 70(2) that division must be taken now.
Pharmacy Fees: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
The following motion was moved by Deputy Dara Calleary on Tuesday, 27 September 2016:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes:
- the recent €12 million payment made to the Health Service Executive (HSE) in settlement of a dispute over incorrectly claimed pharmacy fees;
- the failure of the HSE to notice irregularities in the pharmacy fees it was being charged by a leading chain;
- the fact that other pharmacies are now being pursued for similar practices; and
- that these developments only came to light following media investigations;
agrees that:
- the fact that a leading pharmacy chain could over claim to such an extent is a serious indictment of the HSE’s monitoring systems;
- there are grave concerns about how many other pharmacies may have been operating similar practices;
- it is incumbent on the HSE to ensure that it is carrying out proper checks and balances when dealing with taxpayers’ money;
- urgent action must be taken to recruit auditors; and
- €12 million could have a major impact in funding other areas of the health service where there is significant unmet demand; and
calls on the Minister for Health to:
- outline what action the HSE is taking to investigate this issue;
- ensure that the HSE conclude its investigations without delay;
- detail how those accountable will be held responsible;
- guarantee that more robust procedures are put in place to restore confidence in the system;
- prioritise the proper expenditure of taxpayers’ money; and
- put in place proper auditing systems.
Amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "unmet demand; and" and substitute the following:
"recognises that the switching of medications from a prescription to a non-prescription basis could reduce the expenditure on dispensing fees; and
call on the Minister for Health to:
- outline what action the HSE is taking to investigate this issue;
- ensure the HSE will conclude its investigations without delay;
- detail how those accountable will be held responsible;
- guarantee that more robust procedures will be put in place to restore confidence in the system;
- prioritise the proper expenditure of taxpayers' money;
- put in place proper auditing systems;
- reclassify those prescription-only medicines identified by the Health Products Regulatory Authority to over-the-counter in pharmacy status; and
- introduce legislation to oblige pharmcacies to inform patients of a pharmacist's dispensing fees, pharmacy services and mark-ups through in-store displays in order that pharmacists would be required to use a standard, clearly, visible template and provide the patient or the patient's representative with an itemised receipt following the dispensing of medicines."
- (Deputy Louise O'Reilly).
Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 34; Staon, 0; Níl, 104.
Tá
- Adams, Gerry.
- Barry, Mick.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Broughan, Thomas P.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Collins, Joan.
- Coppinger, Ruth.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Cullinane, David.
- Daly, Clare.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Ellis, Dessie.
- Ferris, Martin.
- Funchion, Kathleen.
- Healy, Seamus.
- Kenny, Gino.
- McDonald, Mary Lou.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Murphy, Catherine.
- Murphy, Paul.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
- Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- O'Brien, Jonathan.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- Pringle, Thomas.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Shortall, Róisín.
- Smith, Bríd.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tóibín, Peadar.
- Wallace, Mick.
Níl
- Aylward, Bobby.
- Bailey, Maria.
- Barrett, Seán.
- Brassil, John.
- Breathnach, Declan.
- Breen, Pat.
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Burke, Peter.
- Burton, Joan.
- Butler, Mary.
- Byrne, Catherine.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Jackie.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Canney, Seán.
- Cannon, Ciarán.
- Carey, Joe.
- Casey, Pat.
- Cassells, Shane.
- Chambers, Jack.
- Chambers, Lisa.
- Collins, Michael.
- Collins, Niall.
- Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
- Coveney, Simon.
- Cowen, Barry.
- Creed, Michael.
- Curran, John.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Daly, Jim.
- Deasy, John.
- Deering, Pat.
- Doherty, Regina.
- Donnelly, Stephen S.
- Donohoe, Paschal.
- Dooley, Timmy.
- Doyle, Andrew.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- English, Damien.
- Fitzgerald, Frances.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Fitzpatrick, Peter.
- Fleming, Sean.
- Gallagher, Pat The Cope.
- Grealish, Noel.
- Griffin, Brendan.
- Harris, Simon.
- Harty, Michael.
- Haughey, Seán.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Howlin, Brendan.
- Humphreys, Heather.
- Kelleher, Billy.
- Kelly, Alan.
- Kenny, Enda.
- Lahart, John.
- Lawless, James.
- Lowry, Michael.
- MacSharry, Marc.
- McEntee, Helen.
- McGrath, Finian.
- McGrath, Michael.
- McGuinness, John.
- McHugh, Joe.
- McLoughlin, Tony.
- Madigan, Josepha.
- Martin, Catherine.
- Martin, Micheál.
- Moran, Kevin Boxer.
- Moynihan, Aindrias.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
- Murphy, Eoghan.
- Neville, Tom.
- Noonan, Michael.
- Ó Cuív, Éamon.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Callaghan, Jim.
- O'Connell, Kate.
- O'Dea, Willie.
- O'Donovan, Patrick.
- O'Dowd, Fergus.
- O'Keeffe, Kevin.
- O'Loughlin, Fiona.
- O'Rourke, Frank.
- O'Sullivan, Jan.
- Penrose, Willie.
- Phelan, John Paul.
- Rabbitte, Anne.
- Ring, Michael.
- Rock, Noel.
- Ross, Shane.
- Ryan, Brendan.
- Ryan, Eamon.
- Scanlon, Eamon.
- Sherlock, Sean.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Smyth, Niamh.
- Stanton, David.
- Troy, Robert.
- Varadkar, Leo.
- Zappone, Katherine.
Staon
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Denise Mitchell; Níl, Deputies Michael Moynihan and Fiona O'Loughlin.
Amendment declared lost.
I move amendment No. 2:
To delete all words after “That Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:
notes that:
- the recent €12 million payment to the HSE from an overpayment of pharmacy fees highlights a wider, systemic problem with our health service;
- drug fees doubled between 2002 and 2008 under the previous Fianna Fáil-led Administration; and
- cuts to bed capacity, staff levels and earnings of health workers commenced by Fianna Fáil have been continued by the present Fine Gael-led Administration; and calls on the Government to:
- desist the stealth removal of drugs that are covered by the General Medical Services medical card;
- abolish prescription charges;
- reverse the cuts to earnings and staffing levels of health care workers; and
- set up a national State Pharmacy that can offer drugs at prices equivalent to other European Union countries such as Denmark.”
Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 33; Staon, 0; Níl, 107.
Tá
- Adams, Gerry.
- Barry, Mick.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Brady, John.
- Broughan, Thomas P.
- Buckley, Pat.
- Collins, Joan.
- Connolly, Catherine.
- Coppinger, Ruth.
- Crowe, Seán.
- Cullinane, David.
- Daly, Clare.
- Doherty, Pearse.
- Ellis, Dessie.
- Ferris, Martin.
- Funchion, Kathleen.
- Healy, Seamus.
- Kenny, Gino.
- McDonald, Mary Lou.
- Mitchell, Denise.
- Murphy, Paul.
- Ó Broin, Eoin.
- Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
- Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- O'Brien, Jonathan.
- O'Reilly, Louise.
- Pringle, Thomas.
- Quinlivan, Maurice.
- Smith, Bríd.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Tóibín, Peadar.
- Wallace, Mick.
Níl
- Aylward, Bobby.
- Bailey, Maria.
- Barrett, Seán.
- Brassil, John.
- Breathnach, Declan.
- Breen, Pat.
- Brophy, Colm.
- Browne, James.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Burke, Peter.
- Burton, Joan.
- Butler, Mary.
- Byrne, Catherine.
- Byrne, Thomas.
- Cahill, Jackie.
- Calleary, Dara.
- Canney, Seán.
- Cannon, Ciarán.
- Carey, Joe.
- Casey, Pat.
- Cassells, Shane.
- Chambers, Jack.
- Chambers, Lisa.
- Collins, Michael.
- Collins, Niall.
- Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
- Coveney, Simon.
- Cowen, Barry.
- Creed, Michael.
- Curran, John.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Daly, Jim.
- Deasy, John.
- Deering, Pat.
- Doherty, Regina.
- Donnelly, Stephen S.
- Donohoe, Paschal.
- Dooley, Timmy.
- Doyle, Andrew.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- English, Damien.
- Fitzgerald, Frances.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Fitzpatrick, Peter.
- Fleming, Sean.
- Gallagher, Pat The Cope.
- Grealish, Noel.
- Griffin, Brendan.
- Harris, Simon.
- Harty, Michael.
- Haughey, Seán.
- Heydon, Martin.
- Howlin, Brendan.
- Humphreys, Heather.
- Kehoe, Paul.
- Kelleher, Billy.
- Kelly, Alan.
- Kenny, Enda.
- Lahart, John.
- Lawless, James.
- Lowry, Michael.
- MacSharry, Marc.
- McEntee, Helen.
- McGrath, Finian.
- McGrath, Michael.
- McGuinness, John.
- McHugh, Joe.
- McLoughlin, Tony.
- Madigan, Josepha.
- Martin, Catherine.
- Moran, Kevin Boxer.
- Moynihan, Aindrias.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
- Murphy, Catherine.
- Murphy, Eoghan.
- Murphy, Eugene.
- Neville, Tom.
- Noonan, Michael.
- Ó Cuív, Éamon.
- O'Brien, Darragh.
- O'Callaghan, Jim.
- O'Connell, Kate.
- O'Dea, Willie.
- O'Donovan, Patrick.
- O'Dowd, Fergus.
- O'Keeffe, Kevin.
- O'Loughlin, Fiona.
- O'Rourke, Frank.
- O'Sullivan, Jan.
- Penrose, Willie.
- Phelan, John Paul.
- Rabbitte, Anne.
- Ring, Michael.
- Rock, Noel.
- Ross, Shane.
- Ryan, Brendan.
- Ryan, Eamon.
- Scanlon, Eamon.
- Sherlock, Sean.
- Shortall, Róisín.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Smyth, Niamh.
- Stanton, David.
- Troy, Robert.
- Varadkar, Leo.
- Zappone, Katherine.
Staon
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Bríd Smith and Thomas P. Broughan; Níl, Deputies Michael Moynihan and Fiona O'Loughlin.
Amendment declared lost.
Motion put and declared carried.