Irish rural pharmacies under threat
The future of rural and community-based pharmacies
in the Irish Republic will be under threat if the market is deregulated,
according to the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU).
In a submission to a government-appointed review
group currently examining whether the regulatory system should be reformed,
it warns that black spots could emerge if existing restrictions are removed.
There is a danger, it claims, of international companies buying pharmacies
— as the German group GEHE is currently doing — and concentrating business
in high density urban areas or suburban shopping centres.
The Irish Republic has around 1,200 pharmacy outlets,
sharing a retail market worth around e880m (£550m). Current regulations
have been criticised as too restrictive by, among others, the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development. They block new outlets that
can affect existing businesses, and also curb the ability of pharmacists
qualifying in the United Kingdom from setting up in the Irish Republic.
Critics claim that this prevents competition in
the sector, to the benefit of those already in business. But the IPU claims
that with one pharmacy to every 3,028 people, the Irish Republic has a
better ratio than the UK and one of the best in the European Union. It
warns the review body that to adopt the free market American model would
be a disaster and would put control of pharmacy in the hands of a few,
with neither the state nor the consumer having control or influence on
prices or the quality of care.
Instead, it advocates continuing the EU regulatory
model, with its emphasis on the delivery of a safe service to the public.
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