Madam, - While the "Twin Towers" in New York were still aflame after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Jo Moore, a spin doctor for the Blair government, sent an email to her colleagues suggesting it would be a good day to "bury bad news".
She later resigned, but her spirit lives on in the PR department of the HSE, which chose Budget day to quietly release the news that, following its recent High Court defeat, the HSE would cease the illegal cuts in the reimbursement rates to pharmacists. The HSE will also be required to repay €50 million wrongfully deducted since last March.
This is just another act in the HSE's tragi-comic attempts to save money by diktat instead of negotiation.
Given that all parties to this dispute recognise that significant savings are both essential and attainable, I hope the HSE will finally realise that it's good to talk to your pharmacist. - Yours, etc,
F. MOORE MPSI, Templeogue, Dublin 6W.