Ní bheidh an Teachta Ó Nualláin anseo anocht. The Minister has had to leave. I missed the opening part of the debate but I hope to clarify some pieces of misinformation that in the media that have been bandied about in the Chamber this evening. The role of a pharmacist and their team, including pharmacy technicians, is a very professional one of safeguarding and ensuring that the right patient gets the right medicine at the right time. Over the years, the delivery of complex medicines has increased, as has the complexity of ensuring that the right patient gets the right medicine. Initially, pharmacists offered an opt-in for an optional blister packing service. Then it became slightly more formal with the recognition of phased dispensing. That could be requested by a GP. In 2017, the HSE PRCS decided to take a more in-depth look because the fees for the phased dispensing service were increasing. They were up around €68 million per annum at that stage. They dropped back to between €53 million and €54 million, on average, in 2022-23 and €58 million per annum in 2024. There are effectively three systems in place. The first is phasing without a blister pack, which is requested by a GP or a consultant. If a pharmacist recognises that a patient is having difficulty with his or her medicines, they can advise the family, the carer or the public health nurse to have word with the GP or to request a consultation. There may or may not be blister packing. Then there is a blister packing service that has been provided for nothing by many of my colleagues. There is a charge of around €12, on average, by others. Then we jump to €50 and the fearmongering around that. I do not know where that figure came from. I am searching and I have not found it but I will put it in context as to where that may have arisen. A review of the scheme has been announced and that review has come about from the HSE primary care reimbursement service. That review was not announced by the Department and it was not announced by the Minister. There has been a reference to "age friendly" and Age Friendly Ireland. I was a member of the committee in Meath for a number of years and two recommendations came from Age Friendly Ireland about three years ago. They were to the IPU and the then Minister, Stephen Donnelly. That was the dump scheme to dispose of unwanted medicines properly because a lot of older people tend to stockpile, or medicines accumulate. Sometimes there is a fear there where people are afraid to say to the receptionist in the GP clinic or to the GP that they do not need X, Y or Z medicine. They are afraid they might not get it again so it appears on the prescription and it is dispensed continuously. The other situation is where the blister packing was and is very highly regarded by Age Friendly Ireland and the older persons' councils, as it is primarily intended to be a safeguarding mechanism to make sure the patient gets the correct medicine at the correct time. However, the rules for phasing are currently set down by the HSE and relate to medicines that are high-risk medication or medication with a potential for misuse. The reality of the situation is that my colleagues going back 20 years have, in the main, been providing the service free of charge. Some 22 or 23 years ago, a customer - a family friend, very dear to me - was on 16 medicines. The only way I could actually cope to make sure he got the correct medicines in the correct blister at the time was to go in at 7.30 a.m. or 8.30 a.m. when there was no one around, to do it in complete peace and quiet. That, effectively, is what is being done by pharmacy teams up and down the country. To be putting the fear of God into the general public about a phased scheme that is going to be reviewed is actually, in itself, shameful scaremongering and does not do anything for older people and anybody who is vulnerable or who may even suffer with anxiety as part of a mental health condition. The system needs to be reviewed and the recommendations of Age Friendly Ireland and the carers' organisations have to be taken on board but the record also has to be set straight that the service, in the main, has been provided free of charge or for a modest enough fee that is well below the cost - the cost of the time and the materials involved. I have absolute faith that proper consultation will take place, given that part of the new pharmacy agreement for 2025 is a section on medicines optimisation. This is exactly where that sits - in the discussion on medicines optimisation and enhancing the role of the community pharmacist and the teams within to make sure that if anything, the service is improved. I am not throwing down the gauntlet to my colleagues; I can speak for the two pharmacies I worked in over the past couple of years. One charges nothing and will continue to do so. The other charges a fraction of the rumoured €50 and will continue to do so. That is not accounting for the time that is taken in consultation on phone calls to GPs, consultants, carers and public health nurses.

Sentiment score: 0.14