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Health Bill

I thank the Minister for that reply, but can he understand that some of us have witnessed the demise of pharmacies in the past? In my area, it happened principally because the supermarkets took them over, only for the supermarket at a subsequent stage to remodel its building and for those services to disappear after a few years. This happened not only with pharmacy services but with post offices as well. I have no doubt that those pharmacies would have accorded with the criteria the Minister has outlined; they would have produced an excellent service and have made over-the-counter medicines more readily available. But the overall quality of service has gone down. This is a real fear for many people, not only those in small and rural areas where there may be different issues about the viability of pharmacy services. That is where we are coming from.