Progress for community pharmacy in Ireland does not happen by accident. Legislative change is the result of sustained engagement and credibility built over time. It arises from using real pharmacy experience and research to demonstrate how policy changes can deliver positive outcomes.
At the start of each Dáil session, the Government publishes a Legislative Programme that sets out the new laws it plans to introduce in the months ahead. For Ministers and Departments, inclusion in this programme means a proposal has moved beyond discussion into the formal pipeline of drafting, debating and deciding.
For representative bodies, it is one of the clearest indicators that their advocacy has delivered impact and much needed reform for the sectors that they represent.
For community pharmacists, the most recent programme, the Spring Legislative Programme 2026, represents a significant milestone. Several long-standing priorities for the profession now feature explicitly within it, reflecting the strategic and persistent engagement and positive advocacy of the IPU with Government.
Following the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025 (CPA25), this marks a shift from progress and opportunity to real momentum, with a strong pipeline of positive developments ahead.
Health Pharmacy and Prescribing Bill and Pharmacy Act Reform: Reform of the Pharmacy Act to streamline certain areas, facilitates an expansion of the sector has been a priority for the profession for many years. The existing Act, enacted in 2007, does not fully reflect the scope, complexity or clinical responsibility of modern community pharmacy practice, nor the role pharmacists now play within primary care.
Work is therefore underway to modernise aspects of this Act. IPU advocacy has consistently focused on the need for a regulatory framework that remains robust and patient-focused, while also being proportionate, modern and fit for purpose.
The inclusion of Pharmacy Act reform within the legislative programme, delivered through the Health Pharmacy and Prescribing Bill, signals clear Government recognition that regulation must evolve alongside practice.
The Bill is intended to streamline aspects of the PSI’s functions, including fitness to practise processes, and to update legislation to support expanded clinical roles and digital health initiatives.
The Bill will also update pharmacy legislation to better support the Department of Health’s eHealth strategy, recognising the growing role of digital systems in prescribing, information sharing and patient care, and ensuring community pharmacy is fully integrated into the digital health infrastructure as services continue to expand. This aligns to Section 5 of the Community Pharmacy Agreement, which has set an ambitious ICT and digitalisation agenda.
IPU engagement on this reform has emphasised that expansion of pharmacy services must be underpinned by clear governance, professional accountability and patient safety. The IPU has consistently advocated for changes to the fitness to practice processes, so that they are more proportionate and mirror changes being made across other healthcare professionals. This position was most recently reflected in the IPU submission to the Department of Health on the Public Consultation on the Proportionality of the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Bill. The consistent message to policymakers has been that modern legislation is essential if pharmacists are to contribute fully to healthcare delivery.
Contraception amendments: One of the most tangible advocacy outcomes in the Spring Legislative Programme is the commitment to amend primary legislation to enable pharmacists to prescribe contraception within eligibility for the Free Contraception Scheme.
Community pharmacies have already demonstrated their ability to deliver emergency hormonal contraception services safely and effectively, improving access for patients and supporting public health objectives.
The Spring Programme includes a specific commitment to amend the definition of scheme provider to include pharmacists. This reflects sustained IPU engagement that combined support for improved access to contraception continuation, direct from pharmacies, with detailed work on the legislative mechanism required to deliver the service in practice.
For pharmacists, this amendment represents formal recognition of clinical competence and strengthens community pharmacy’s role within primary care.
Health Information Bill: The Health Information Bill represents a further area where IPU advocacy has focused on practical outcomes for community pharmacy. The Bill aims to provide a statutory basis for the use and sharing of health information, including digital health records.
For community pharmacists, effective digital integration underpins safer prescribing, improved continuity of care and more efficient workflows.
The IPU has consistently highlighted the need for appropriate pharmacy access to relevant patient information and for data sharing arrangements that reflect pharmacists’ role in patient care, which has been reflected in the recent Community Pharmacy Agreement.
Inclusion in the Legislative Programme is a key advocacy milestone, showing that an issue has moved from aspiration to action, while recognising that further political and legislative work is still required before change is delivered.
For IPU members, this provides demonstrative evidence of the value of collective advocacy. Each legislative item included reflects sustained engagement and the careful translation of professional priorities into policy language that resonates with decisionmakers.
It also marks the start of the most important phase — legislative detail and amendments will determine how these reforms operate in practice. Continued engagement by the IPU and its members will be essential to securing workable outcomes.
The current Spring Legislative Programme shows clearly that community pharmacy priorities are being reflected at the centre of Government decision making. Through strategic advocacy grounded in operational reality, the IPU has helped secure progress on key areas.
For community pharmacists, these developments are not abstract policy wins. They will shape how the profession practises and evolves in the years ahead. This progress has not happened by accident. It is the result of sustained, professional advocacy delivering real results for members and patients across Ireland, made possible by the high level of public trust, professionalism, and quality of service that underpins community pharmacy practice and enables continued policy momentum.
Brian Harrison
Managing Director, MKC Communications
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