Pharmacists will make Government inaction on the future structure of the sector an election issue.

Mr Richard Collis, president of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union, said that if the current free-for-all continued, it would be too late to turn the clock back.

"There are elections coming up and we are going to put a lot of pressure on councillors and TDs to act and to act now before it is too late," he said.

Mr Collis said the regulatory vacuum since the abolition at the end of 2002 on rules in place since 1996 had made it more rather than less difficult for new entrants to the profession.

"Contrary to what the Competition Authority would have you believe, entry has become more difficult," said Mr Collis.

"The environment is uncertain and the banks are therefore less willing to lend money."

The Competition Authority says the fact that multinational groups have not consolidated their position since regulations were swept away proves that the fears of the IPU are overhyped.

"If you look at the situation since deregulation, you see that Celesio (formerly Gehe) now has just three more pharmacies than it had following its acquisition of the Unicare chain two years ago," said Mr Declan Purcell, a member of the Authority.

"That gives it 53 outlets and between 4 and 5 per cent of the market, hardly a dominant position. The real growth in the last two years has been in Irish-owned pharmacy groups."

The Competition Authority also took issue with the decision to retain a European Union derogation on ownership of Irish pharmacies by people not trained in the State on safety grounds.

The derogation says that such people, including many Irish pharmacists trained abroad because of a lack of places here, cannot own or supervise new pharmacies although there is nothing to stop such people working in chemists.

"It seems inequitable to say that people in this position are able to work here but not to run new pharmacies," said Mr Purcell.

Labour health spokeswoman Ms Liz McManus accused the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, of treating the issue of pharmacies with "disdain".

She has tabled a question for the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin tomorrow "seeking a comprehensive explanation as to his policy in relation to pharmacies and his failure to deal with this issue in an open and forthright way".

Fine Gael's health spokeswoman Ms Olivia Mitchell said: "As far as I can see, the Minister just does not want to make any decision on this issue."