I am glad the Minister has recognised that there has been confusion, a lack of clarity and three different types of scenarios in the way this money has been dispensed. I received an email from one constituent informing me that on her last visit to the chemist to pick up her 80-year-old mother's prescriptions, she was informed that the blister pack charge would be increasing to €7.50 per week from 1 January 2026. She was shocked at the extra €5 per week, an increase of 200%. She said that she currently pays €10 a month for the packs but from 1 January, it will be €30, an extra €20 per month. She felt that this was scandalous. If ever there was an issue where the Department did not know on a practical level that the facts of the situation were that the phased dispensing scheme was being used to pay for these, it was this. I could instance hundreds of different ways where I feel the HSE is paying too much. It recently purchased a building in Tralee. The site was previously purchased for about €160,000 two or three years ago, and the HSE recently purchased it for €4.2 million. I know they are paying hundreds of thousands in rent for the primary care centre in Tralee. When I ask how much they are paying for it, they refuse to confirm the amount, probably because they are embarrassed as to how much they are paying. It is not a good use of taxpayers' money. It is a fact that these blister pack monitored dosing systems have been widely used. Whether it is part of the scheme or not, the Minister accepts that there is confusion. Nearly everyone here knows someone who has used it, is using it or should be using it, particularly older vulnerable people with dementia, brain injuries and disabilities. The monitored dosing systems were historically reimbursed in practice through phased dispensing, as the Minister has admitted, which was in reality known to everybody who was involved in the system. We raised the concerns in October. They were ignored and it is only now the Minister is dealing with it. I am glad to hear she will be addressing it in the future.

Sentiment score: -0.07