A call for a change in the law to allow pharmacists prescribe medicines in certain circumstances was made to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children.
The call was made by the president of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU), Mr Richard Collis, who told the committee that "letting pharmacists prescribe certain medicines would reduce family medicine bills".
He added it would enable patients to have direct access to medicines and antibiotics for minor ailments; help many families who find themselves marginally above the medical card (GMS) eligibility threshold; and free up GPs surgeries and Accident and Emergency Departments to deal with more serious matters.
Referring to the financial difficulties that families just above the medical card threshold can face with a sick child, he said. "Often pharmacists can treat these patients from the range of medicines currently available to them but more could be done if structured protocols were put in place for pharmacists to treat conditions such as minor skin infections, uncomplicated respiratory and urinary tract infections, etc".
He told the Committee the role of the pharmacist as a prescriber has been developed in the UK, and elsewhere with considerable success.
"We are not looking for a carte blanche to start handing out antibiotics left, right and centre, nor are we looking to usurp the role of the doctor. We believe that pharmacists given appropriate training and guidelines are in an ideal position to treat routine ailments," said Mr Collis.
The IPU also wants to see increased usage of generic medicines. The IPU president said that figures presented by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics in St James's Hospital last year showed that ?6m could potentially be saved annually from substituting generic drugs for 11 of the top 30 drugs of highest cost to the GMS (where a generic equivalent was available).