- Community pharmacies need sustainable funding to provide additional healthcare services, delivering care closer to home.
IPU Friday 17 July 2026: The Irish Pharmacy Union has called on Government to use Budget 2027 to invest in the expanding role of community pharmacists in delivering patient care, saying pharmacists have the willingness and capability to provide additional healthcare services on behalf of Government if community pharmacies are adequately resourced to do so.
Community pharmacies are among the most accessible parts of the Irish health service, with 1,912 pharmacies across the country and approximately 2.14 million adults visiting a pharmacy every week, equivalent to more than 111 million visits each year.
Following the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025 (CPA25), Ireland’s health services are increasingly depending on pharmacists, as medicines experts, to deliver patient-facing services. This includes the Common Conditions Service, administration of vaccines, engagement in screening programmes and wider public health interventions.
The recent publication of the Health (Provision of Contraception Prescribing Service in Retail Pharmacy Businesses) Bill 2026, which will allow pharmacists to issue prescriptions for certain forms of contraception in clearly defined clinical circumstances, is the latest example of Government expanding the role of community pharmacy.
Despite this expanded role, the financial model underpinning the community pharmacy network must be strengthened to ensure it reflects rising workforce, regulatory, compliance, operating, and digital infrastructure costs. CPA25 was the first comprehensive review of pharmacy funding in almost two decades. To sustain and further expand patient care services, this funding model must now be reviewed on a regular basis rather than being left unchanged for prolonged periods.
Commenting IPU President Caoimhe McAuley said, “Community pharmacies are being asked to play an increasingly important role in delivering healthcare closer to home, a role which pharmacists have consistently delivered. Every new service delivered through community pharmacy improves access for patients while helping to reduce pressure on GPs, hospitals, and waiting lists. Pharmacists are ready to do more, but continued expansion can only be achieved if community pharmacies have the sustainable funding needed to deliver those services.”
In its pre-Budget submission, the IPU is calling for Government investment to support a sustainable community pharmacy network and enable the continued expansion of patient care. The proposals include:
- Establishing a fair and transparent framework for future fee reviews;
- Maintaining the real value of State pharmacy remuneration;
- Supporting digital transformation;
- Strengthening workforce capability;
- Ensuring fair remuneration for essential pharmacy services; and
- Supporting pharmacies serving communities with the greatest health needs.
Ms McAuley said, “Pharmacies in disadvantaged communities often support higher numbers of vulnerable and complex patients. These are also communities where access to healthcare can be most challenging and where pressure on other health services is greatest.
“Budget 2027 should include targeted support to protect pharmacy access in these communities. A person’s access to local pharmacy care should not be determined by the level of disadvantage in the community where they live.”
Investment in community pharmacy will help protect patient access to care, accelerate digital transformation, and support the delivery of Sláintecare by enabling more care to be delivered in local communities. The IPU said this investment should be viewed not simply as supporting existing pharmacy services, but as creating additional healthcare capacity across the wider health service.
Ms McAuley added, “Budget 2027 is a critical opportunity for Government to ensure community pharmacy is properly supported to meet the needs of patients and the wider health service.
“This is not simply about sustaining existing services. It is about enabling pharmacies to deliver additional healthcare capacity in communities across Ireland. If Government wants pharmacies to continue expanding this role, there must be a fair and transparent funding framework that reflects the real cost of delivering modern pharmacy services.”
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