Sir, – With regard to the outrageous price of drugs in Ireland, perhaps my experience of buying atorvastatin in the south of France will give readers a different perspective. I go there from time to time and on one occasion, shocked at the outrageous price of atorvastatin in Ireland, brought my prescription for atorvastatin to a local chemist to see if it would be cheaper in France. The prescription was filled by a the pharmacist, not an assistant, with atorvastatin from the same branded pharmaceutical manufacturer as in Ireland, but with a price of €34 instead of €58 for a 28-day supply. I bought a three-month supply, saved €72 and promised myself I would never buy that drug in Ireland again.
On a subsequent visit to France I went to a different pharmacist with my prescription, showed him the box from the atorvastatin I had bought in France and asked him if he sold it. He said he did, but recommended a generic atorvastatin costing €17 for a 28-day supply. I asked for a three-month supply and was given it, at a cost of less than one month’s supply in Ireland. Here was a truly professional pharmacist, operating a successful business in the most expensive part of France, providing first-class service to a customer, at less than a third of the price in Dublin.
People are voting with their feet and will continue to do so in increasing numbers until the rip-offs in medicines in Ireland are brought to an end. – Yours, etc,