Small Irish pharmacies urge Govt protection
The Irish Pharmaceutical Union has called on the Government to protect local, independent pharmacies.
The IPU is holding a special information day for Oireachtas members ahead of the forthcoming Pharmacy Act.
The Act proposes among other things, tighter regulation and monitoring of chemists throughout the country.
The IPU says over 400,000 people visit their local pharmacy every day but the industry is now being threatened by commercialisation.
Chairman of the IPU’s community pharmacy committee, Daragh O'Loughlan, says that local chemists are being taken over by big chains and companies who do not have the best interests of their local customers at heart.
