The Competition Authority is investigating whether pharmacists who have this week withdrawn from providing methadone to around 3,000 recovering drug addicts are breaking the law.
Under competition law, the organised boycotting of schemes is regarded as being in breach of the Competition Act.
A spokeswoman for the authority confirmed yesterday it had sent letters to about 140 pharmacists on Friday evening informing them it had "opened an inquiry" into whether their actions in deciding to withdraw from dispensing methadone to patients was in breach of competition law. It had advised them they should seek legal advice before embarking on their action, she said.
Pharmacists are withdrawing from the scheme in protest at the decision of the Health Service Executive to cut the mark-up paid to wholesalers for drugs which are then dispensed by pharmacists under the medical card scheme. They claim this will make the dispensing of drugs by them to medical card holders a loss-making exercise. The pharmacists have also expressed anger that the HSE will not discuss fees they get paid with their representative body, the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU). The HSE claims to do so would be in breach of competition law.
Richard Collis, one of the pharmacists who stopped providing methadone yesterday, said he was not prepared to reverse his decision until the HSE agreed to sit down with his union and find a way of discussing pay and conditions for members.
He said he regarded the supplying to the Competition Authority by the HSE of the names of the pharmacists who were withdrawing from the methadone scheme as the "crudest form of intimidation".
He claimed the letters sent from the Competition Authority to the pharmacists concerned "were couriered to us on Friday evening to try and intimidate us".
A spokesman for the IPU said given that pharmacists had decided as individuals to withdraw from the scheme it did not see any competition law issue arising.
Minister for Health Mary Harney and the HSE yesterday appealed to the pharmacists to reconsider their action.
The HSE said it had met with drugs wholesalers and that no retail pharmacist would be out of pocket as a result of the changes to the payment system for drugs.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Ms Harney said: "We always say in disputes in the healthcare setting that we don't want patients to suffer and this is clearly one area now where the patients are suffering and will suffer."
But she said she had been assured by the HSE it was putting in place an alternative supply chain for those on methadone and she hoped it would be effective. Asked what should be done to resolve the dispute she said: "The pharmacists that have decided to withdraw the service can restore the service and I would appeal to them to do so".
Some 11 HSE drug treatment clinics around Dublin have now been asked to supply methadone to those who would normally obtain it from the 140 pharmacies, under a contingency plan drawn up by the HSE. In some instances yesterday patients accustomed to getting their supply in the morning had to wait until later in the day.
David Connolly, spokesman for the heads of the country's local drug taskforces, said it would take some time to see what impact the withdrawal of the pharmacists from the methadone scheme would have.
He said there were complaints that some users were now being forced to travel long distances to access a supply. "If this goes on then the question is whether the contingency plan can be sustainable," he said.
There was no sign last night of any talks to try to resolve the dispute.