Tipperary TD calls on the Government to rule out blister pack charge

 Tipperary  TD Seamus Healy has called on the Government to rule out the introduction of a blister pack charge once and for all.

Deputy Healy said the custom and practice is the reality and the fact that there is no charge for blister packs.

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"Whatever the ins and outs of this issue, the Minister and her Government are now placing the individual patients as pawns between the Department, the Government and the pharmacies. The buck stops with the Minister. I am asking that the Minister does the right thing, the compassionate thing and stops any question of charging for blister packs either now or into the future.

This issue reminds me of the blood test charge debacle. First, GPs started charging medical cardholders for the taking of bloods. After being told it was illegal, we were then told it was not so illegal and would be covered under the contract. Political football was played with the issue for years and the outcome was that every medical cardholder now pays for blood tests. In my home town of Clonmel, patients pay anything from €10 to €30 for a blood test, regardless of whether they have a medical card.

That should not happen in this case but I am very much afraid that the attitude of the Department and the Minister means it might well happen. I am putting them on notice tonight that the blister pack issue must be dealt with now and any charge to patients in this regard should be ruled out completely. Anything short of that will show again that the Government is out of touch with the public. The whole question of the cost of living arises with this issue. The very people it is proposed to charge for the blister packs, namely, the elderly, the vulnerable, the sick and the disabled, are already being hammered by increased costs.

Unfortunately, the Government made a choice in that regard in the budget when it supported developers, burger barons and landlords and failed to support the vulnerable people in society who needed energy credits and supports and who have already been hit by huge energy cost increases. Almost all the major energy companies, all of which are making obscene profits, have increased their charges in recent months. Department officials recommended to the Government that there be energy credits in the budget, noting that, without them, the average family will pay an additional €321 per year. The Government took no notice of that. Vulnerable people were not the choice. The Government chose the developers, landlords and burger barons.

The budget was framed on the basis of a 2% inflation rate but a recent survey shows the rate is at 3.2%. The former Minister based his budget on a rate of 2% before taking off to the World Bank. We now have a situation where people who were already under pressure are being hit with an inflation rate 50% higher than was budgeted for in a context where not a single energy credit was put in place. Food costs are also hammering all the people who may be subject to a blister pack charge. The same survey recently showed that food prices are up by 6%. Over the past few years, the average family paid an additional €3,000 per year in food costs.

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People who are vulnerable, including the disabled, the ill and the elderly, are now facing the prospect of an additional charge. I ask the Minister of State to rule this charge out for once and for all. I am asking that it not be deferred for two months, six months or whatever but ruled out now and for good. If that is not done, I would be very much afraid the Government will go down the same road as its predecessor in regard to blood test charges and we will end up with blister pack charges of €10, €20, €30, €40 or €50 per month. I ask the Minister of State to do the right and compassionate thing by ruling out these charges, full stop," said Deputy Healy.