The Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) has no plans to advise its members against withdrawing from the Health Service Executive's (HSE) methadone scheme, despite fears that hundreds of users risk being forced back on to heroin as a result of the move.
A spokesman for the IPU also rejected criticism that pharmacists who withdraw from the methadone scheme are deliberately targeting a vulnerable group as part of a separate dispute over cuts in the prices paid by the HSE for prescription drugs.
This dispute has given rise to the prospect that some pharmacists may also withdraw from the medical card scheme.
The Irish Times has learned that at least 23 pharmacists have already said they will withdraw from the methadone scheme in the coming weeks, although the HSE said other pharmacists had confirmed that they did not intend to pull out of the scheme.
Payments to pharmacists under the methadone scheme are not affected by the HSE's plans to reduce the cost of medicine dispensed through schemes such as the medical card and drug payments schemes. This aims to save the HSE some €100 million in 2008.
Those who work in the drug rehabilitation sector have warned that, should more pharmacists withdraw from the methadone scheme, it could lead to a crisis in the system.
More than 4,800 people in the State receive their methadone prescription from a pharmacy.
The IPU spokesman confirmed that some pharmacists, acting independently, had decided to withdraw from the scheme. He added: "We are not targeting anybody, but the scheme is dependent upon goodwill between the HSE and pharmacists . . . that trust has been completely broken."