Agreed. The logic seems to be that because SF are pointing this out and raising the issue then it must be somehow flawed, I don’t care who brings it to the attention of the general public it’s a serious problem that needs adressing. We’re basically told they’ve secured €10m in savings, managed to secure a meeting and from that a new deal is immenent… maybe.
It sounds like the problem is the people doing the negotiating just aren’t up to the job, a bit like our politicians who make bold promises before they go to Europe, then end up coming home with their tails between their legs pretending to us that they got something. They’re just outclassed.

Toby I agree with you however its not only by the pharmaceutical we pay to much for cars, travel, house hold goods, shopping the list go’s on

Don’t forget SF voted for ?5b in cuts in NI where they are in power, yet claim to oppose same cuts in RoI where thankfully their politics of perpetual, populist protest has failed to hoodwink the majority of normal people.

Yo, Stephen, it was your Party FF that worked all the backhanders in such a way as to facilitate the Pharmaceutical companies charging us these prices. You have no shame, coming on here after the fact to talk about the 5 billion euro budget cut in the North. SF and the DUP both complained to the British PM about his lying and reneging on pre-election promises, not to cut the Norths budget. But, then again, FF were pretty good at the auld lieing themselves. Behind every FF person stands a corrupt company willing to put another back-hander ((brown envelope as FF’s Gallagher mentioned during his presidential election bid).

I have to buy a 2 week supply of a drug which costs me €88 here plus €50 doctor’s visit charge. I went to England a few months ago for a few weeks but had to stay there an extra few weeks, during which time I had to get my medication – I was not charged for the doctor’s visit to get the prescription and 2 weeks supply cost me 25 pounds sterling.
Since i have come back, I am not taking any medication and my situation is getting worse.

Michael if you read s/f statement on the whole issue you will find that they did and actually always offer a solution on the issue ye just have to trough the blinkers away that’s all

@ Darren – If you want people to shift from floating to being a SF supporter, din’t tell them that they’re currently wearing blinkers. Even though I’m sure it’s not your intention, it sounds as if your saying that the general public is ignorant and that it is their own fault that they are ignorant. Don’t slag off the people you want to win over, it’s a bit of a turn off.

My bad nick !!

I hope you see the irony of your comment. The taxpayer is being overcharged for ink supplied to the dail as well as drugs supplied to the HSE.

So what, exactly, do you think is praiseworthy about RoI health system Conor?????

Paying up to 12 times more for exactly the same drugs is not praiseworthy, it’s retarded.

But anyway, in what areas does the Republics system improve on the British system, in your opinion?

Hypocrisy has to be the most misused word in the dictionary- What is hypocritical about praising a better healthcare sytem? Surely that would be better than sticking your head in the sand saying Ireland has the best in the world?

Don’t forget to add on the price of the doctors fee usually 50 to 60 euro which is free up north . At times you know what is wrong with you . Ear infection . Chest infection etc . And know exactly what drug the doctor will perscribe and yet you still have to visit and pay prescription charges. In other so called backward countries you can buy them over the counter at half the price

If I understand what you’re implyimg Nydon, Ireland earns €55bn from taxing the multiple Pharma companies that operate here, or at least have a tax base here. As a result of this the government are reluctant to demand lower prices for drugs we use and instead are happy to keep paying full price in order to placate the pharma companies. This seems a little odd.
I don’t know what the annual drugs budget is, but lets be honest if the government did find their collective balls and spines and demand the same prices as our neighbours what would the saving be, at best 75%, lets say €1bn. That would be spread across all the drug companies, so would it really shock them enough to drive them out of Ireland where they are because of our low corporate tax, I really doubt it?

Brian, I accept your argument based on numbers. However, your rational assumes that our Governments tend to make decisions in the same way and not based on keeping in favour with those who they think “need to be kept sweet” even if it doesn’t make economic sense when the numbers are crunched. I envisage a simplistic decision that “we can’t be seen to be leading the charge for lower drug prices when we make most of the stuff”

“We”, that is Ireland, don’t actually make the “stuff”. What we do is facilitate some companies that do make the stuff to do so here, and others to just have a tax base here in order to take advantage of our low corporate tax levels.
When “we”, that is Ireland, buy the various products from these companies we do so as a customer, so as a very large customer we can negotiate for the best price possible. In fact we’d be foolish not to do so, wouldn’t we?
I don’t see this as a problem, at one time Ireland was the world’s biggest supplier of computer software, would it be disrespectful to Microsoft if we, at that time, negotiated as best a deal as we could with them? Negotiating a fair deal for Ireland, at similar rates that every other country is getting is reasonable, if we were to attempt to ask for more than that, ok, that would be too much, but as things stand, and have stood for a long time Ireland has been screwed.

Brian, I’ve actually agreed with you really but your now making it very hard to continue to do so. Quoting you > “We”, that is Ireland, don’t actually make the “stuff”. What we do is facilitate some companies that do make the stuff to do so here”
I see – so that would explain the 25,000 non-Irish people flying in every Monday morning and home again on Friday ? http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Source-a-Product-or-Service-from-Ireland/Sector-and-Company-Directories/Pharmaceutical-Se .
Also, note my reference to the more simplistic thought processes employed at the political level of decision making. The big picture from a political perspective is what counts for our politicians – i.e. “how it looks” P.S. I’m not a politician.

Point taken. But I wonder how governments in other countries cope with “how It looks” as many of the companies we’re talking about have a far bigger presence and employ far more people in many of these other countries yet they still manage to overcome their “how It looks” issues to ensure when they buy drugs from these companies they do so at far more competitive prices than we manage. You have to arrive at the conclusion that in Ireland we either have a national inferiority complex which results in a collective “don’t upset the applecart” or our national representative’s just are not good at negotiating. In either case we loose out.

I wasn’t talking about the obvious, Rip off republic. I am on about shinners, blowing it out their backsides and they couldnt plan a piss up in a brewery. They hoover up disgruntled and un-educated or clueless voters, but they’re all the same. FF/FG/Labour/Socialists and Sinn fein, I’d have them all shot but i am too civilised for that! I hope Mr. TT, I don’t have to educate you about my comment again?

As usual, you have no evidence to back up your claim.

Lies, sleaze, and innuendoes, if you have any evidence of members of Sinn Fein been involved in illegal activities you have a duty to report it to the relevant authorities. But if you are not capable of writing an intelligent comment, please refrain from displaying your ignorance here.

Jaysus Michael do you not like your knees and elbows where they are?

Kevin, part of the reason healthcare costs this state so much is thanks to a senior member of YOUR party, james reilly, negotiating higher fees for GPs for seeing medical card patients while he was head of the GPs union.

But, thats right, its not the fine gael GPs of this world milking the system to look after their buddies thats the problem, its sinn fein for bringing the issue of the costs of medicines up.

Sorry Darren, now you’ve lost my respect. There’s no point listening to your points if you can’t convey them without maintaining a level of civility. You’re damaging your own argument far more than your opponent is.

How are they talking out of their backside? Theyre right! And no matter who says it, if your right your right.

Your right steve

Are you just going to blather from the book of Paisley? Is that all your intellect is capable of repeating? Well, you know where the Airport is… MOVE.