Mediation on pharmacies' discount fails

A HIGH court judge has been told that mediation talks have failed between the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) in a dispute over the HSE’s decision to reduce discount payments to pharmacies under a community medical scheme.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly, who had last month directed the sides to consider court-supervised mediation, yesterday suspended the talks indefinitely.

The IPU said it was disappointed a resolution was not found through the mediation process. The body will proceed with a case it has taken with four plaintiffs against the HSE for breach of contract.

The HSE also said it was disappointed at the result. “We have taken the process very seriously and ultimately there was no outcome,” a HSE spokesman said yesterday.

The first of the actions initiated by hundreds of pharmacies against the HSE is known as the Hickey action. It will proceed on July 22nd. The case will effectively decide the issues in the other actions.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times