Blister Packs: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-16
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David Cullinane (SF), Waterford

I do not understand this approach. It may not have been the Minister who gave the speech in the Seanad but certainly it was a Minister who essentially doubled down. Nowhere did the reply say there would be any agreement.
In fact, what it said was that this is a private matter between patients and pharmacists. I understand that this was funded indirectly; I said so at the time. It seems that this was funded through the phased dispensing scheme and that pharmacists were essentially offsetting the cost of blister packs through phased dispensing. Whatever about the rights and wrongs of that at this point in time, many of these people who were previously getting it funded now have to pay and they simply cannot afford to do so. We are being constructive in tabling this motion to ask the Minister to engage and to look at putting in place a scheme whereby this can be funded. There are different ways this can be done. She could allow GPs, for example, to determine whether, through the same funding pot as phased dispensing, we provide for blister packs as well. Obviously, funding into the pot could be increased. There are a lot of options open to the Minister. However, the option of saying "No" will not win over the support of those people who are now, as they see it, being left high and dry.
I know the Minister is not opposing the motion but I appeal to her to listen not just to me but to all those people who have reacted very angrily. They do not really care who is right or who is wrong as to how these were funded in the past. The only thing that matters for them and their families is that they are now facing an additional cost, and that is very unfair on those patients.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-16