Following the Easter recess, the Dáil returned to its usual level activity, with a number of pharmacy-related issues raised by Deputies. Across debates and committee discussions, key themes have included access to medicines and pharmacy supports, service expansion in community settings, workforce and education capacity, and ongoing system pressures such as supply shortages and digital infrastructure. In particular, there has been sustained attention on the evolving role of community pharmacy, from medicines optimisation and prescribing to public health and prevention, alongside broader considerations around patient access, equity, and system resilience. Brain Harrison, Managing Director at MKC Communications, provides this report.
Monitored dosage systems and blister packing continues to feature prominently in Dáil debates and Parliamentary Questions, with Deputies Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent), Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil), and Roderic O’Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) each using their Dáil time to raise the issue.
Deputy O’Gorman asked the Minister for Health for an update on her Department’s engagement with pharmacists on the cost of blister packs, while both Barry Heneghan TD and Pádraig O’Sullivan TD asked the Minister what assessment has been made into the impact on persons with disabilities of the requirement to privately fund blister packing, and what consideration has been given to subsidising these charges.
In her response to each of them, the Minister outlined that her Department, the HSE and the IPU have been engaged in substantial negotiations over the last number of months.
The Minister advised that an agreement has been reached, that there will be two new pharmacy fees will be introduced to enable medicines optimisation supports to be delivered by pharmacists, including blister packs where clinically appropriate. In her response, the Minister said; “I recognise the vital role of community pharmacists, and these new arrangements empower pharmacists to use their professional judgement to support patients most in need.” She also shared that the reforms are designed to strengthen supports for vulnerable GMS patients and will ensure a more robust system in the future.
Medicine shortages were raised by members of the Dáil this month, with Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil) asking the Minister for Health if her and her Department have reviewed previous annual medicine shortages surveys conducted by the IPU and what measures have been taken “to address shortages that have been identified as placing additional workload on community pharmacists”.
Deputy Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Féin) also speaking on medicine shortages, asked the Minister for Health if she is aware of “pharmacies unable to fulfil prescriptions for patients due to external factors such as supply chain issues”.
In response to both Parliamentary Questions, the Minister for Health highlighted the establishment of the Medicines Shortage Framework by the HPRA to prevent shortages and reduce the impact of any that may arise, as well as the Strategic Medicines Access and Availability Group (SMAGG), which aims to “help shape national policy on medicine shortages”.
The Minister also acknowledged that medicine shortages present significant challenges for patients and healthcare professionals, and that her Department remains committed to managing situations effectively.
Following the introduction of the Common Conditions Service, Deputy Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil) asked the Minister for Health the number of pharmacies currently participating in the CCS, and the steps that are being taken to maximise participation among pharmacies.
The Minister shared that of the 1,912 community pharmacies in Ireland, a total of 1,810 pharmacies have signed up for the CCS, welcoming the fact that “such a high percentage (94.6 % per cent) of community pharmacies are providing this service.”
Deputy Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fáil) used his Dáil time to highlight the strong position that community pharmacists have in their community. As part of this, he asked the Minister for Health to “outline the efforts being made to expand the role of pharmacies into the area of health and wellness hubs”.
In her response, the Minister for Health pointed to the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025, which acknowledges there is more that pharmacists can and should do for community healthcare. Speaking about the Common Conditions Service, she shared her hope for the success of the service so that it can be extended “beyond these eight conditions to the next eight, whatever they may be”.
Free contraception was raised by Deputies Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Féin) and Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil), with Deputy Bennett asking the Minister why “the free contraception scheme excludes women older than 35 years-of-age”.
The Minister for Health shared that “there is no public health reason to limit eligibility by age, up to age 55”, however a phased introduction of the scheme was recommended.
Deputy O’Sullivan also asked the Minister “if she will provide an update on the timeline for the introduction of legislation to enable pharmacists to prescribe contraception under the free contraception scheme”.
The Minister outlined that a draft of the Bill will be available in the coming months, and that operational supports and regulatory guidance is overseen by the Community Pharmacy Expansion Implementation Oversight Group.
Over the last month, several members of the Dáil spoke about the availability of third-level healthcare courses, including the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael).
During her statement on International Nursing Day, she spoke about the investment Government has made into healthcare education, as well as future plans to invest €28.5 million to deliver an additional 1,100 places each year over the next three years in pharmacy, medicine, nursing, therapy professions, and dentistry.
A number of Deputies asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science, James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fáil) about the steps being taken to increase the number of training places in key professions experiencing workforce shortages, including healthcare. They are Deputies Willie Aird (Laois, Fine Gael), Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil), Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael), Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Féin), and Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael).
In each response, Minister Lawless outlined that his Department, “is supporting one of the largest expansions of healthcare education capacity in the State’s history”, with investment across all healthcare courses. “Building on recent increases in pharmacy across higher education,” the Minister shared, “the South-East Technological University (SETU) is commencing a new Pharmacy Programme (MPharm) in 2026 with an initial intake of 40 students.”
Following the introduction of electronic record keeping legislation, Deputy Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil) asked the Minister for Health if she would provide a timeline for pharmacy software vendors to implement the system changes required so community pharmacies can avail of the new record keeping provisions, and what is being done to close the gap between legislative enactment and practical implementation. The Electronic Record Keeping Implementation Group is working closely with the Minister and her Department, and she advised that it remains focused on “focused on supporting stakeholders in progressing implementation.”
In the Seanad, Senator Margaret Murphy O’Mahony (Fianna Fáil) raised the need for digital medical records, specifically on why it is taking so long for the Government’s scheme to be introduced. For pharmacies, the Senator believes medical records will, “cut out a lot of addiction”, because she believes that “there is nothing stopping me from going to three or four doctors tomorrow and getting prescriptions from different pharmacies”.
Plans to tackle the promotion and sale of counterfeit obesity medicines online were raised by Deputies Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael), Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil), and Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fáil).
This followed the HPRA confirming that over 750,000 dosage units of falsified and illegal medicines were detained in 2025. Deputy Burke asked the Minister what actions she intends to take to protect patients from the health risks of the “rapidly increasing availability of counterfeit obesity medicines”.
In response the Minister for Health advised that the HPRA plays an active role in protecting public health and has delivered targeted public awareness campaigns using digital and social media channels to warn about the risks associated with buying prescription medicines online.
She reaffirmed that, “medicines purchased online may not contain the correct ingredients, may be unsafe, and are not subject to the safeguards that apply when medicines are supplied through recognised and regulated sources such as pharmacies”.
Deputy Moynihan also asked about the “measures being taken in digital interventions by the HPRA to shut down websites, social media and e-commerce listings promoting illegal medicines in Ireland”. The Minister shared that, in 2025, the HPRA shutdown or amended 4,762 such websites, e-commerce listings and/or social media pages. This compares to 2,553 websites shutdown or amended in 2024 and 2,348 websites in 2023.
Deputy David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Féin) raised the approval process for reimbursement of orphan medicines with the Minister for Health. He asked her what plans she had for providing access to necessary treatments to rare diseases for people who, “cannot access medicines which have regulatory approval but do not have a reimbursement arrangement”.
Deputies Pádraig O’Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fáil) and Louis O’Hara (Galway East, Sinn Féin) also raised this with the Minister, using the example of Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare degenerative disease. Speaking on behalf of constituents, the two Deputies mentioned Skyclarys, which provides treatment for the disease but is not yet approved in Ireland and whose manufacturer has been in negotiations with the Department of Health for two years.
In her response, the Minister for Health shared the Government’s commitment to investing in medicines and supporting the reimbursement system. She shared that in Budget 2026, there was an “allocated €217 million in additional funding for drugs, with €30 million of this allocated for new drugs funding”.
The State has recently negotiated a new Framework Agreement on the Supply and Pricing of Medicines, and following successful negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry, that will provide stability and certainty to the sector. The Minister shared that the Agreements “provide commitments and a structured process towards achieving a 180-day timeline, for completing health technology assessments (HTA) and reimbursement decisions”.
Brian Harrison
Managing Director, MKC Communications
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