A shameful veto - Methadone refusal is unacceptable

ANY person trying to shake off the chains of an addiction is involved in a life or death challenge.

That struggle can have an emotional, psychological or physical impact that sometimes proves too much for an individual or the family supporting that person. Any addict who can muster the gumption to confront their alcoholism, enslavement to gambling or need for prescribed or illegal drugs has taken the first step to reclaiming their life and should be supported.

This makes the decision by the Irish Pharmaceutical Union to support 140 of its members in their refusal to dispense methadone utterly unacceptable.

That these secure, middle-class retailers should jeopardise the wellbeing of people trying to rescue their lives by petty haggling with the Health Service Executive brings great shame on their entire profession.

This is especially so as the methadone programme is completely unrelated to a scheme being introduced to bring our drug prices more in line with mainland Europe prices. HSE analysis has shown that the current medicine wholesale mark-up in Ireland, at 17.66%, is more than double the EU average.

Pharmacists received €1.35 billion for buying and dispensing drugs for the HSE last year. Out of more than 1,300 community pharmacies, 540 were paid more than €1 million. One firm received more than €4m.

By using people struggling with heroin as pawns in a commercial dispute the IPU shows some of the contempt for their fellow man exhibited by the drug barons who sell the heroin in the first place.

Undoubtedly there are too many people using methadone for far too long but that is of no concern of the IPU. Their job is facilitate programmes administered by doctors for the benefit of their patients. The ruthlessness and self-interest shown by the pharmacists is an indication of how greed has become such a powerful driving force in our small country.

The methadone veto is a step too far and Ms Harney, despite what she says about it being a HSE problem, would have the support of the whole country if she intervened to preclude any discussions with the shameless IPU until it is lifted.