Graduate

Billy Kelleher
Fianna Fáil
€108 million
cost of
abolishing
prescription
charges
The estimated fullyear
cost of abolishing
prescription charges
now is €108 million,
the Minister for Health
told the Fianna Fáil
Health Spokesperson,
Deputy Kelleher, in
the Dáil.
“The estimated fullyear
cost of reducing
the charge for the over
70s is €12m. Therefore,
taking account of
the reduction in the
charge for over 70s. . .
the additional cost of
abolishing the charge
is approximately
€108m in a full year,”
he said.
New rules for
pharmaceutical
assistants yet
to be finalised
Draft rules formulated by the
PSI in relation to the function
of pharmaceutical assistants
in the “temporary absence” of
a pharmacist are still under
consideration by the PSI, and
have yet to be submitted to
the Minister for Health.
This was stated recently by
the Minister, when replying
to a Parliamentary Question
from Deputy Catherine
Murphy (Social Democrats,
Kildare North) who asked for
an update on the consultation
process regarding temporary
absence.
In his reply, the Minister
said that pharmaceutical
assistants (PAs) were
registered with the PSI,
and under Section 30(1)
of the Pharmacy Act 2007,
“may perform the same
functions as a pharmacist,
in the temporary absence
of a pharmacist, with the
exception of functions
that are restricted to
pharmacists under specific
medicines legislation, such as
vaccination services.”
The Act also provided for
the PSI Council to make rules
(with the consent of the
Minister) “defining temporary
absence, and also what may
or may not be done by a
pharmaceutical assistant
when acting on behalf of a
registered pharmacist.”
In 2013, the PSI Council
had directed that a policy
position be developed to
enable and facilitate the
drafting of rules relating to
the circumstances in which
a registered PA may act in
the temporary absence of a
registered pharmacist. The PSI
Registration and Qualification
Recognition Committee (RQR)
was assigned responsibility
to progress this work. A
pharmaceutical assistant was
sought to join this Committee
and was appointed by the PSI
Council in March 2014.
“The PSI developed the
draft Pharmaceutical Society
of Ireland (Regulation of
Temporary Absence Cover by
Pharmaceutical Assistants)
Rules 2016 following debate
and engagement with
interested parties including
the PAA, who it has met on
numerous occasions. The
draft Rules were issued for
consultation on 8 February
2016, ending on 7 March
2016 and approximately 700
submissions were received. An
analysis of the submissions
received has been concluded.
The matter is to be considered
further by the PSI Council at
its next meeting on 23 March
2017,” the Minister added.
Catherine Murphy
Social Democrats
PSI pension fund has
€3.7 million on deposit
A Parliamentary Question about
the pension liabilities of the
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland
(PSI), and its funding mechanism,
was posed in the Dáil recently to the
Minister for Health by the Minister
of State at the Department of the
Taoiseach, Deputy Paul Kehoe (Fine
Gael, Wexford), who also asked if
it was appropriate “to accumulate
large reserves from fee and
registration income”.
Paul Kehoe
Fine Gael
The Minister outlined the regulatory role of the PSI,
covering 5,840 pharmacists, 1,900 pharmacies and
360 pharmaceutical assistants, and being responsible
for the registration of pharmacists, pharmacies and
pharmaceutical assistants; the education, training and
continuing professional development of pharmacists,
as well as the inspection of pharmacies, enforcement of
medicines and pharmacy legislation, and the operation
of fitness to practise functions.
He said those functions were funded by fees paid
by registrants. The setting of fees for the pharmacy
profession was governed by the Act and required the PSI
to make an application for Ministerial consent to any
fees that it proposed to charge. Following an extensive
review, fees were reduced by 10% in 2010 and most fees
by a further 5% in 2014.
“The PSI receives the majority of its income from
registration fees in the last quarter of each year
(70%) and this income is reflected in the PSI Financial
Statements for that year. However, this income
is required to enable the PSI to fulfil its statutory
obligations under the Act in the following year.
“In relation to the PSI superannuation scheme, the
Department of Finance granted sanction in May 2008
to the PSI to operate, on an administrative basis, a
superannuation scheme based on Public Service Model
Scheme terms. On 10 March 2016, the Pharmaceutical
Society of Ireland Superannuation Scheme 2016 (S.I.
136 of 2016) was approved and signed by the Minister
for Health with the consent of the Minister for Public
Expenditure and Reform (DPER). The Scheme came into
operation on that date.
“The purpose of the SI is to adopt the Rules set out in
the Schedule to the Rules for Pre-existing Public Service
Pension Scheme Members Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 582
of 2014) as a scheme for the granting of superannuation
benefits to the Registrar and staff of the PSI who are not
members of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme.
“The PSI operates its superannuation scheme on a
'pay as you go' basis from existing cash reserves as
well as from employer and employee superannuation
contributions. Contributions to the scheme are
currently held in a designated deposit account until
such time as the funding mechanism is formally
approved. The amount held in the deposit account is
reflected in the PSI cash balances.
“The current value of the funds held on deposit is €3.7
million. The approval of a funding model is a matter
for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
(DPER) and it is currently considering the appropriate
funding mechanism which should apply. It should be
noted that the superannuation scheme and the funds
held pending the approval of the funding mechanism
by DPER are separate to PSI funds required to fulfil its
statutory requirements under the Act.”
IPUREVIEW APRIL 2017 63