Pharmacists have been urged by the Executive of the Irish Pharmacy Union to resume normal services immediately in the interests of patient safety.
The union said it reached the decision in order to prevent 'a recurrence of the chaotic scenes of yesterday and last week' and in light of commitments made by Minister Mary Harney in recent statements.
The Executive held an emergency meeting with members in Dublin this evening in order to advise them of the reasons for making this decision and to discuss the dispute.
Minister for Health Mary Harney welcomed the decision by the IPU and said she looks forward to the early resumption of full pharmacy services to patients and the wider public.
However, speaking earlier President of the IPU Liz Hoctor said it is very clear that some of the issues have not been resolved and she warned that further disruption to services was almost inevitable if they are not.
The dispute centres on a reduction in payments to those pharmacists who dispense prescriptions under the State drug schemes.
The HSE said the cut is 24% and is necessary because the schemes cost taxpayers around €133m a year. The IPU says the cut is 34%.
