Talks aimed at trying to sort out the issues which led to the recent dispute between the Health Service Executive and pharmacists are to begin in Dublin next Wednesday.
The fresh talks between the HSE and the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) will be chaired by Bill Shipsey SC. These will be the first talks between the sides since more than 140 pharmacists in Dublin and Wicklow called off their methadone protest earlier this week.
They had stopped dispensing methadone to about 3,000 recovering drug addicts in protest at the HSE's decision to cut the mark-up paid to wholesalers for drugs which are then dispensed by them under the medical card scheme. They claimed this would make the dispensing of drugs by them to medical card holders a loss-making exercise.
The HSE claims this is not the case.
Pharmacists are also angry at the lack of support for the methadone dispensing scheme and that the HSE would not discuss the fees they get paid with their representative body, the IPU. The HSE claims to do so would be in breach of competition law.
Mr Shipsey issued a statement last week saying if the pharmacists called off their methadone protest talks could resume and real progress could be made.