A breakthrough in the row between the Health Service Executive and pharmacists seemed closer last night. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, reports.
The chairman of talks aimed at trying to resolve the dispute, Bill Shipsey, said if pharmacists recommenced dispensing methadone to 3,000 recovering drug addicts in the Dublin and Wicklow area, he believed discussions between the HSE and the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) could resume in an attempt to resolve the issues which led to the dispute.
"I believe that with goodwill real progress could be made. I would envisage those meetings getting underway early next week and would be happy to continue to assist the parties," he said.
Intensive talks between the sides took place last Tuesday and Mr Shipsey put proposals on the table aimed at resolving the dispute. But the HSE wouldn't agree to them until the 140 pharmacists involved in the protest called it off.
The pharmacists stopped dispensing methadone in protest at the HSE decision to cut the mark-up paid to wholesalers for drugs which are then dispensed by pharmacists under the medical card scheme. They claim this will make the dispensing of drugs by them to medical card holders a loss-making exercise. The HSE claims this is not the case.
The pharmacists, who say they embarked on their protest individually rather than on the advice of their union, are likely to be encouraged by their union - the IPU - over the weekend to stop the methadone protest.
Michael Guckian, president of the IPU, said last night he welcomed the intervention of Mr Shipsey.
"I welcome the intervention of Bill Shipsey who has played an important role in trying to restore trust and confidence between both sides over recent days and months.
"I view this as a positive development and hope to be in a position to make a further statement on the matter within the next 48 hours," he said.
It is not know whether the individual pharmacists involved in the methadone protest will heed the IPU when it encourages them to call off their protest.
A number of them have already been summoned to appear before the Competition Authority next week for alleged breaches of competition law as a result of their withdrawal from the methadone scheme at the same time, and some are also now the subject of complaints on foot of their action to their regulatory body, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.