The Community Pharmacy Agreement (CPA) sets to expand and modernise the role community pharmacy in Ireland’s healthcare system. As part of the Agreement, the HSE’s National Condom Distribution Service (NCDS) will be expanded to community pharmacies. This initiative aims to distribute free condoms and lubricant sachets to services working directly with population groups who may be at increased risk of negative sexual health outcomes.

 

Background

Condoms help prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and offer effective contraception. They are easy-to-use and have few side-effects.

Despite their convenience and effectiveness, condom use in young people has fallen in recent years. The proportion of sexually active adolescents in Europe using condoms at last intercourse fell from 70 per cent to 61 per cent among boys, and 63 per cent to 57 per cent among girls between 2014 and 2022. Evidence from a recent HSE survey on sexual health in young people found 79 per cent of young people have had sex at some stage in their life without a condom. A significant minority (nearly 40 per cent of men, and 32 per cent of women), do not always use either condoms or other forms of contraception when having sex.

There are a number of potential reasons for the decline in condom use. The HSE’s sexual health survey of young people found 37 per cent of 18- to 30-year-olds did not use condoms because they were not to hand and 44 per cent of all respondents believed that condoms are too expensive. Increasing the availability of condoms and reducing cost barriers to access is therefore a vital part of reducing STI transmission and unplanned pregnancies. This is particularly important in the context of rises in STI rates in Ireland in recent years.

 

National Condom Distribution Service

The NCDS was established by the HSE Sexual Health Programme (SHP) in October 2015 to improve sexual health and wellbeing and reduce negative sexual health outcomes, as part of the National Health Strategy 2015-2020. The service distributes condoms and lubricant sachets to services working directly with population groups who may be at higher risk of negative sexual health outcomes. Community pharmacies will be joining GPs, third level institutions, public sector establishments, STI clinics, non-governmental organisations, HIV PrEP providers and not-for-profit organisations who already deliver the service.

The expansion to pharmacies will help provide equitable access to condoms and lubricant within local communities and remove the associated cost barriers.

Features of the service

From February 2026, pharmacies can order condoms, lubricant sachets and information leaflets through the NCDS, for individuals aged 17 years and over, as part of a one-to-one clinical consultation relating to sexual health. Condoms, lubricant sachets, dispenser box and leaflets can be ordered at no cost via healthpromotion.ie. Condoms come in packets of 500, so have a minimum order of 500 and lubricant sachets have a minimum order of 200. Quantities above 200 can be ordered in multiples of 100. Products can be reordered at any time. These items must not be displayed in the retail space.

A key condition is that the service is linked to a one-to-one consultation with the pharmacist relating to sexual health

Application

Community pharmacies in the Republic of Ireland are eligible to apply. To assist with the operational implementation of this service pharmacies will be onboarded over eight phases on a month-by-month basis. Pharmacies have been divided into eight groups of approximately 200 pharmacies per group. The eight groups have been chosen based on an urban-rural geographical spread. For each phase, the relevant pharmacies will be notified by the HSE that they are now eligible to apply for the service. Pharmacies will be directed to the online application form on the sexualwellbeing.ie website and if they wish to partake in the service, they can complete and submit the form to the NCDS for review and approval. To support with phased stock allocation, pharmacies are asked to make every effort to submit their application form within four weeks of being contacted by the NCDS. Once the application has been reviewed and approved, pharmacies will be required to register on the Health Promotion website healthpromotion.ie, and then place orders for condoms and lubricant sachets, leaflets and display boxes.

 

Terms and conditions

Terms and conditions can be found in the application form. A key condition is that the service is linked to a one-to-one consultation with the pharmacist relating to sexual health. For example, this could be a consultation for emergency hormonal contraception (EHC), HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or erectile dysfunction. There are other terms and conditions to the service surrounding:

• Compliance with Irish legislation, tax laws and professional safeguarding standards;
• Patients are not to be charged for condoms provided by the NCDS;
• Informing patients that NCDS condoms are not latex free;
• Monitoring of expiry dates and agreement to not disseminate condoms with a shelf life of less than 12 months before the stated expiry date;
• Storing and handling condoms and lubricant sachets in a manner that prevents damage;
• Checking for and disposal of damaged condoms and lubricant sachets and notifying the HSE Sexual Health Programme;
• Responding to queries or complaints that may be submitted related to the service in the pharmacy;
• Ordering of HSE condoms and lubricant sachets only from healthpromotion.ie; and
• Removal of access to NCDS in the case of a breach of terms and conditions.

 

Legislative requirements

In advance of accessing the NCDS, community pharmacists are advised to review their obligations under the Children First Act 2015 and ensure all necessary measures are in place. This includes being familiar with the Act, ensuring an adequate and up-to-date risk assessment and Child Safeguarding Statement and awareness of the general reporting obligations if there are reasonable grounds for concern for a child. PSI Guidance is available for this at psi.ie > Practice Supports > Pactice Updates and Learnings > Preparation for the Children First Act 2015. Further information can be found in the IPU Review article ‘Children First Act: Pharmacists’ responsibilities’ (published November 2025), and a template of the Child Safeguarding Statement, both available at ipu.ie > Professional > SOPs and Supporting Materials > Templates.  

Resources and support

The IPU have developed a Hub to support pharmacy access to the NCDS. It can be found at ipu.ie Professional > HSE National Condom Distribution Service. Further information can also be found on sexualwellbeing.ie.  

Conclusion

This service is one of the many ways that the scope of community pharmacies is being broadened as part of the Community Pharmacy Agreement. This provides an opportunity to enhance patient care. Pharmacies are encouraged to apply.