The Irish Pharmacy Union has warned that around 4,700 jobs could be lost and more than 330 pharmacies could close if the Health Service Executive implements new regulations on pharmacists.
The HSE has said it will cut the price it pays for the delivery of medicines to pharmacies from 1 March.
It says it is being charged twice as much for drug deliveries as the retail pharmacy sector, which costs the HSE €100m a year.
Sean Hurley of the HSE told the Oireachtas Health Committee that the present system is costing the equivalent of 60 hospital beds, or 1,000 nurses a year.
