Many TDs raised the State’s vaccination programme and who is eligible for the reimbursement mechanisms aimed at reducing the cost burden on patients.
Deputy Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fáil) raised a series of Parliamentary Questions with the Minister for Health on adult vaccination policy, including pneumococcal, RSV, influenza and shingles vaccination. He specifically asked the Minister about extending publicly funded pneumococcal vaccination as well as the Government’s plans for a longer-term adult RSV vaccination programme.
The Minister advised that the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) is currently reviewing newer pneumococcal conjugate vaccines and will share updated recommendations, which are due to be submitted to her Department before the end of the year.
Deputy Devlin also asked the Minister about the shingles vaccine, and what the estimated full-year cost would be of a publicly funded shingles vaccination programme for those aged 80 and over, 75 and over, 70 and over, 65 and over, and 50 and over. The shingles vaccines was also raised by a number of other TDs including Deputies Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael), Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fáil) and Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael) with Deputy Butterly asking if the Minister was aware of “the reported increase in cases of shingles among younger adults.”
In response the Minister shared that HIQA’s Health Technology Assessment (HTA) found that the shingles vaccine, for all adults aged 65 years and over “would not be cost effective and would be associated with a substantial budget impact”. Despite this, the Minister, in Budget 2027, announced the phased introduction of a national shingles vaccination programme for eligible cohorts.
Deputy Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid-West, Sinn Féin) also raised vaccination programmes with the Minister, specifically asking the reason why “lung transplant patients are not reimbursed for vaccinations they must have before undergoing transplant surgery”.
The Minister responded to share that shingles, RSV and HPV vaccines are recommended but not mandatory prior to a lung transplantation. As these vaccines are not reimbursed under Community Drug Schemes, such patients are not eligible for reimbursement.
Still featuring prominently in Dáil debates, Deputy George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour Party) asked the Minister for Health if she could “clarify the arrangements governing the provision of medication blister packs”, if medical card holders receive them without an additional charge, and whether patients who face medication-safety risks are entitled to blister packs.
Deputy Ruth Coppinger (Dublin-West, PBP-Solidarity) also raised this issue with the Minister and asked the Minister if she would “consider bringing forward legislation to provide free universal access to blister packs for patients from pharmacies”.
The Minister shared that following her engagement with the Department, the IPU and the HSE she introduced a new medicine optimisation support service (MOSS), which is available free of charge “for specified vulnerable patient groups who are also medical card holders, where the pharmacist deems it clinically appropriate”. These patient groups include patients with a physical disability, patients diagnosed with cognitive impairment or dementia, patients with an intellectual disability, patients who are unable to appropriately manage their medication, and patients who are on high-risk medications.
In response to Deputy Coppinger’s query, the Minister said that blister packs will “remain a last resort in-line with international evidence” and that the reforms ensure that resources are targeted towards those who genuinely need them.
Following the successful introduction of the Common Conditions Service early in 2026, Deputy Ryan O’Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fáil) asked the Minister for Health to share an update on the rollout of the Common Conditions Service, including the number of pharmacies now providing the service and the number of pharmacists that have undergone training to provide the service.
The Minister shared with Deputy O’Meara that over 95% of pharmacies across the country had opted-in to participate prior to the launch of the service in January 2026. She also shared that in order to deliver the Service, pharmacists must complete two separate online training courses through the Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIOP). As of August 2026, 4,291 pharmacists have been awarded a certificate for the ‘Common Conditions – Core Module’, and 4,062 have been awarded a certificate for the ‘Common Conditions – Condition Specific Modules’.
Deputy David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Féin) also asked the Minister for Health about the Common Conditions Service, and the level of fees collected by pharmacists for services provided under the scheme, and the measurable outputs of introducing the scheme.
The Minister advised that while a consultation fee does apply for patients accessing the service, as it is operated on a private basis, “pharmacy owners may determine their own fees and are not required to report these charges to the State”. She did share that, as part of an evaluation framework, 150 pharmacies across the country are due to submit specific delivery data to the HSE in quarter four of 2026.
Several Deputies highlighted the issue of medicine shortages, and the reimbursement of alternative medicines in place of unavailable medicines, including Deputies Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland), Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael), and Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Féin).
The Minister advised the Deputies that “medicine shortages are a feature of modern health systems” and that the HPRA aims to help prevent potential shortages from occurring and to reduce the impact of shortages on patients. The Minister directed the Deputies that medicines not on the formal Reimbursement List are considered on an individual patient basis.
Deputy Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fáil) asked the Minister for Health for “an update on the implementation of Programme for Government commitments regarding pharmacists and pharmacy services”.
The Minister highlighted five commitments regarding pharmacists and pharmacy services in the Programme for Government: Appoint a Chief Pharmaceutical Officer; introduce a Common Conditions Service; streamline community pharmacy HSE reimbursement procedures; review the pharmacy fee structure; and increase the number of healthcare college places in nursing, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and health and social care professions.
Taking each of these commitments in turn, the Minister shared that the process for the appointment of a Chief Pharmaceutical Officer is now complete, the Common Conditions Service was published by the Minister, the HSE is leading the streamlining of the reimbursement procedures, additional pharmacy places at third-level have been achieved and a statutory review of pharmacy fees has commenced.
The Minister also shared that she and her Department are engaging with community pharmacies in support of public health campaigns, including the National Condom Distribution Service, Alcohol and Pregnancy Awareness, Men’s Health campaign, Winter Vaccination Campaign, and the National Bowel Screening Programme.
Raising the issue of online prescriptions of weight loss medication, Deputy Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) asked the Minister for Health “what happens when a patient deliberately provides inaccurate information or photographs of their current condition” and what is the minimum clinical assessment required before high-dose weight-loss medication is prescribed remotely.
The Minister for Health advised the Deputy that while a prescription may be issued by a registered medical practitioner following an appropriate clinical assessment, including through an online consultation, “any subsequent dispensing and supply of prescription-only medicines by a pharmacy must be carried out in accordance with applicable medicines legislation.”
Deputy Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) asked the Minister for Health whether consideration had been given to issuing “clear and nationally consistent guidance to pharmacies and non-pharmacy retailers regarding the sale of paracetamol and other commonly available medicines to children and adolescents”. The Deputy also asked the Minister whether her Department will examine the introduction of a statutory minimum age for the purchase of paracetamol products.
The Minister advised that while there is no statutory minimum age for the purchase of paracetamol-containing products in Ireland and there are no plans to introduce a minimum age, the Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) Regulations 2003 place specific restrictions on the pack sizes and quantities of paracetamol that may be supplied without prescription.
The availability of third-level healthcare courses was raised by Deputies John Paul O’Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael) and Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú) in the Dáil with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy James Lawless.
Deputy O’Shea asked the Minister the number of applications for the pharmacy degree programme at University College Cork, and the number of students that met or exceeded the required points but were informed that no place is available until the following academic year. The Minister advised that while he does not have that specific data, he is sympathetic to the students who are not offered places despite meeting the criteria. He reiterated his commitment to providing more places on similar programmes, pointing to an additional 151 pharmacy places being delivered annually.
In the context of third-level healthcare places, Deputy Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú) asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education if there has been “an assessment of whether the allocation of places to non-EU students in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy or veterinary medicine has reduced the number of places available to Irish students”. The Minister advised that the admission and recruitment of students is matter for individual higher education institutions and that international students “make an important contribution to Ireland’s higher education system”.
Brian Harrison
Managing Director, MKC Communications
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