Fears for pharmacy jobs after move by Tesco

CÍAN NIHILL

THE PRESIDENT of the Irish Pharmacy Union, Dara O’Loughlin, says he is “frightened to speculate” about how many independent pharmacists might lose their jobs following Tesco’s decision to enter the market this week.

The retailing heavyweight chain opened its first Irish pharmacies this week in stores in Naas, Co Kildare, and Balbriggan, Dublin, with eight more outlets planned over the next two to three years.

It has pledged to implement only the HSE-recommended mark- up of 20 per cent on pharmaceutical products as well as an inbuilt dispensing fee of €3.50.

While the union was unable to provide figures for what the average independent pharmacist charged, it is widely considered to be higher than the 20 per cent mark-up recommended by the HSE. Tesco’s move into the market has been welcomed by the National Consumer Agency.

Mr O’Loughlin said pharmacists were already struggling to survive and indicated fears that stand-alone pharmacists would not be able to match the prices offered by Tesco. He referred to the situation in the UK where Tesco had more than 300 pharmacies, saying thousands had lost their jobs as a result. Tesco’s entrance into the pharmaceutical market has renewed discussion about the relatively high cost of medicine in Ireland.

“The medicines coming into this country are at a higher price than they are in our nearest neighbour, the UK, and in Spain, where most people go on holidays,” Mr O’Loughlin added.