World Pharmacists Week: Statements

Tomorrow, we celebrate World Pharmacists Day 2026. Of course, it is World Pharmacists Week. This year's theme, chosen by the International Pharmaceutical Federation, is empowering pharmacists for healthier futures. It is an appropriate theme for Ireland. Over the past year, we have taken significant steps to empower pharmacists to play a broader and more clinical role within our health service. Through new services, new responsibilities and new investment, pharmacy is becoming an even more important part of delivering accessible, patient-centred healthcare. Pharmacists are a phenomenal asset to, and a fundamental part of, our health infrastructure. Community pharmacies are located right where people live. Some 85% of people live within 5 km of a pharmacy. They are embedded in our communities. They are often the first and easiest place for people to turn for trusted advice and practical support. World Pharmacists Day provides an important opportunity to reflect on the immense value of the pharmacy profession. It is a day to recognise not only the expertise of pharmacists but also their commitment, compassion, professionalism and dedication to patients both within our hospitals and in communities across the country. In September last year, the landmark community pharmacy agreement was published, following agreement between my Department, the HSE and the Irish Pharmacy Union. The agreement supports commitments to expand pharmacy services, provides new investment in the sector, supports value for money and modernisation, and advances important digital reforms. I welcome to the Public Gallery representatives from the Irish Pharmacy Union. I thank them for their work and collaboration on the agreement. The progress achieved over the past year demonstrates what can be accomplished when the Government, the HSE and professionals work together with a shared ambition to improve services for patients. These achievements include the common conditions scheme, MediBack for the safe disposal of unused medicines; the medicines optimisation support service; the national condom distribution scheme; health promotion initiatives, including alcohol in pregnancy and men’s health; PPV23 pneumococcal vaccination for eligible individuals; and the promotion of the BowelScreen programme at population level. The most significant pharmacy reform delivered over the past year, and indeed for some years, has been the introduction of the common conditions service. This landmark initiative has expanded the role of pharmacists in patient care and has made access to treatment faster and more convenient for thousands of people. For the first time, appropriately trained pharmacists can assess and prescribe treatment for a range of common health conditions. The service currently covers eight common conditions, namely, allergic rhinitis, cold sores, conjunctivitis, impetigo, oral thrush, shingles, cystitis and vaginal thrush. This represents a significant advancement in how care is delivered in Ireland by allowing patients to access care quickly and conveniently without the need to secure a GP appointment for every minor illness. The service was developed in response to recommendations of the expert task force on pharmacy and was formally launched in January. This service brings healthcare closer to people, reduces inconvenience for patients and families and helps to ensure that people receive timely treatment for common conditions. Importantly, it also contributes to the wider objective of improving capacity across the health service. By enabling pharmacists to manage appropriate conditions safely within their scope of practice, the service helps to reduce pressure on other parts of the system while ensuring that patients receive prompt and high-quality care. The response from the pharmacy profession has been extraordinarily positive. More than 95% of eligible pharmacies are participating in the service, demonstrating a strong commitment across the profession to supporting this important reform. It demonstrates a strong commitment across the profession to supporting the people in their areas, their customers and patients, who will be able to get better access and much more quick access to expert care for common conditions. We now have the opportunity to see how we can drive further with the next set of conditions. Pharmacists are highly trained professionals with an extensive knowledge of medicines, therapeutics and patient care. The common conditions service allows patients to benefit more fully from the expertise of the person at the centre of their community. For parents caring for a sick child, for workers balancing employment and family responsibilities and for people who may find it difficult to get appointments elsewhere, the service offers a practical and patient-centred alternative. However, it is not just about convenience. It is about a relationship with trust, it is about accessing expertise and it is about building how we are bringing patient care into every part of every community. Nowhere can that be done better than through the community pharmacy network. The community pharmacy expansion implementation oversight group, which comprises representatives from pharmacy practise, the HSE and pharmacy and medicines regulators, supports the safe implementation of this service. There has been extensive training to deliver the service. I really want to thank pharmacists and their teams, who have leaned into this enormous opportunity to change how healthcare is delivered. With the success of the initial number of conditions, the challenge now is to see how much further we can go. The Department is currently evaluating this formally to see how effectively it has been implemented, where challenges have been encountered by patients, healthcare professionals and, of course, where we might go with the future. I have spoken to a number of people around the country who have availed of this of this service. However, I believe that we are nowhere near the point where people really fully know and are aware that it is available and as more people avail of the service, it will build through word of mouth. Even 12 months from now, we will see this as a much more regular part of the vernacular about how people are accessing care. It is a fantastic place to start. Sometimes we have to start somewhere. I am excited to see how this builds and how we can develop it. It is also part of a broader journey. I want to highlight is MediBack. A few weeks ago, I was very pleased to announce the rollout of MediBack, a new nationwide unused medicines disposal service. Basically, this service provides patients with a safe, convenient way to return unused or expired medicines to pharmacies for proper disposal. It is so very important. The service helps reduce the risk of accidental harm, supports the responsible management of medicines and contributes to environmental protection. It is hugely significant. It helps to prevent antimicrobial resistance, as I said, safeguard the environment, reduce the risk of falsified medicines entering the black market, lowers the risk of accidental poisoning and supports suicide prevention and self-harm reduction by limiting access to unused medicines. If I look in the back of my cupboard, as I did when this service was introduced, there are out-of-date medicines and things that are no longer necessary. I have a little pile to bring back to my pharmacist. I encourage everybody to look in the back of their medicine cupboards to see what they can bring back to their pharmacist, if only for environmental protection apart from protection of their families and households from accidental poisoning or taking expired medicines that are not safe. People should look at the back of their cupboards to see what they can bring back to their pharmacist who is there to support them. The service also supports Ireland's One Health objectives by trying to protect people, animals and the environment from the risks associated with inappropriate storage or disposal of medicines. We know this is a massive environmental issue. Both the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan 2021-2027 issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025 identified the establishment of such a nationwide disposal service as a priority. Every pharmacy that signs up to the community pharmacy agreement is required to provide MediBack free to the public. MediBack also aligns with the objectives of Sláintecare by promoting patient safety, improving environmental sustainability and generating evidence to inform future service improvement. The Department, the Irish Pharmacy Union, IPU, and the HSE are currently developing the evaluation arrangement for the service. That evaluation will provide a valuable opportunity to build a clear evidence base on the scale of used and expired medicines in Ireland and over time, the service will give us important information on both the types and volumes of medicines being returned. That information can then help inform future policy on prescribing, including overprescribing and deprescribing, and dispensing practices, including pharmacy and medicines optimisation, antimicrobial resistance and public awareness. It will support a more targeted approach to reducing medicines waste while improving value for money, patient safety and environmental protection. Programmes such as MediBack can operate quietly in the background but they are a really powerful reminder of the broader contribution pharmacists make to society. Pharmacists are not just simply involved in the supply of medicine. They are stewards of medicine throughout their lifecycle, supporting their safe and effective use as well as their responsible disposal. As healthcare systems increasingly focus on sustainability, environmental responsibility and prudent resource management, initiatives such as MediBack become ever more important. I want to highlight the Health (Provision of Contraception Prescribing Service in Retail Pharmacy Businesses) Act 2026 enabling pharmacists to issue additional prescriptions for some forms of contraception. Patients will be able to seek new prescriptions for short-acting forms of contraception - the progesterone-only and combined hormonal pill patch and ring - throughout the services. Pharmacists, of course, are already able to provide emergency contraception. Needless to say, that will continue. Pharmacists will be enabled to issue repeat prescriptions once a GP prescription has been in place for at least six months, the patient is happy with the form of contraception provided and no additional risk factors concerning side-effects have been identified. That service will be open to women, girls, transgender, non-binary and gender-fluid individuals for whom a suitable form of prescription contraception as prescribed by their doctor for a duration of at least six months. That is going to make a huge difference to the need to attend a GP for renewals. This is possible now through a pharmacy and it is a very important. The service is free of charge for those eligible for the free contraception scheme and it will also be open to private patients who are not eligible for that, subject to a locally determined fee. It really is a fantastic initiative that enables better access for people to conveniently do more with the pharmacy. Now that President Connolly has signed the Bill and it has been accordingly enacted, the next steps are to prepare secondary legislation to enable the training and clinical aspects of the scheme. The drafting of those statutory instruments is ongoing. I want to thank all the pharmacists right around the country for the way in which they support the patients in their community. I thank them for the trust that they have developed with their community. I thank them for their expertise and professionalism and the way in which they use their expertise in a gentle, careful way to support the people who need them, often at very difficult moments, and support them in an ongoing way help to help manage their conditions over time. I wish every pharmacist in the country a happy World Pharmacists Day and a productive week next week.

I welcome the opportunity to speak today. I thank the Minister for her contribution. Pharmacists are medicines experts and are among the most accessible health professionals in the State. There are approximately 1,900 community pharmacies providing around 2 million visits every week. Their role has evolved well beyond dispensing and medicines management. Community pharmacies are now involved in prescribing for common conditions, vaccination and wider public health work. Hospital pharmacies are also central to safe and effective medicines use and patient-centred clinical pharmacies where patients have more complex needs. The key point is that we need to use pharmacists to their full potential and integrate pharmacies further into community care. That can improve access, strengthen prevention and medicine safety and reduce avoidable pressure on GPs and acute hospitals. The community pharmacy agreement and the common condition service have been important steps. The common condition service is an important development in pharmacy care and one for which Sinn Féin has advocated. It allows pharmacists to prescribe, on a protocol basis, for eight common conditions, but the work of pharmacy reform is far from complete. The common conditions service still falls far short of universal healthcare because consultation fees are not covered for patients, including medical card holders. Prescribed medicines may be covered in the normal way but the consultation fee itself still has to be paid. If we want to direct more care into appropriate alternatives to GP visits and hospitals, the cost of doing that should not simply be transferred to patients. Government should publish the cost of making essential pharmacy care freely available on the same basis as GP care. More broadly, reducing pharmacy costs for patients should form part of the Sláintecare roadmap. This should include reducing the drugs payment scheme threshold, adding more medicines to the reimbursement list and reforming the GP visit card so that it takes into account other elements of primary care, including pharmacy and dental services. The next step is to make greater use of community pharmacies in chronic disease management and proactive health checks. Pharmacists are still not formally integrated into existing chronic disease management teams. There is scope for a greater role in targeted cardiovascular screening, blood pressure checks, diabetes and cholesterol checks and wider screening and prevention. We in Sinn Féin have proposed a role for community pharmacy in integrated and targeted cardiovascular health screening and management for people at highest risk of cardiovascular disease. Vaccination through pharmacies can also be expanded, including targeted free access to vaccines such as the shingles vaccine. I have read recently that there might be some movement on that issue. It might be something that will be included in the budget, if the media reports are right. I am supportive of a shingles vaccine. I know we have to start somewhere, and a start would be welcome. If is the case that it is in the budget, that would be welcome. Shingles and respiratory syncytial virus, RSV, vaccines targeting those most vulnerable would be really helpful and pharmacists have a role to play there as well. We also need to move towards a full pharmacy prescribing model, within each pharmacist's accredited scope of confidence. The expert task force recommended independent, autonomous, prescriptive authority. At present, pharmacists are limited to protocol-based prescribing for eight conditions. The legislation is in place to support the wider prescribing role but it has not been implemented in full. Expanding the role of pharmacy also requires proper workforce planning. Pharmacists have identified increased workloads, administrative burdens and workforce shortages such as barriers to delivering better care. The wider health service continues to suffer from a lack of strategic workforce planning and underinvestment in training places. Students are also facing exceptionally high points requirements because of the limited number of higher education places, despite the need to train more pharmacists domestically. We need to rejig workforce planning for both community and hospital pharmacy. The South East Technological University, SETU, and University Hospital Waterford partnership is, I think, a good example of the value of regional training hubs. It brings together hospital practice, education and placement, postgraduate training, research and workforce development. Pharmacy already plays a much wider role in healthcare than simply dispensing medicines. The next phase is to build on the community pharmacy agreement and the common conditions service, and moving to universal healthcare must include pharmacy care. That means integrating pharmacy further into primary care, reducing financial barriers for patients, expanding its role in chronic disease management, screening and vaccination, implementing wider prescribing within pharmacists' accredited competence and ensuring the workforce and training capacities are there to support those reforms. I also want to welcome the visitors in the Public Gallery from the Irish Pharmacy Union, IPU. I commend all of those community pharmacists and those who work for them for the role they play in primary and community care more generally. We obviously look forward to continuing to support the evolution of the role that pharmacists play in healthcare, including in primary and community care more generally.

I wish to thank the pharmacists for everything they do. Pharmacists play a crucial role within our health services and our primary care system. Within communities, they provide a vital service, often as part of a first call if a person is feeling unwell. They often help in a failing health system where patients are subjected to huge waiting lists for primary and clinical care. The role pharmacists play and the services they offer have developed over the years, especially in more recent years as we have sought to address shortcomings within our primary care system. Universal healthcare, in my opinion, necessitates pharmacy care. Going by my own engagement with pharmacists, whether as a patient or as a public representative, there seems to be consistent willingness to provide enhanced services and assist in any regard in which they are fully capable and qualified. They just need sufficient engagement, appropriate supports and fair compensation in terms of logistics of delivery. Of course, pharmacists are always invaluable in our hospitals, helping to ensure that medicines are used safely and effectively as outlined by my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, through the example of the 2026 SETU and University Hospital Waterford partnership. They are, however, underutilised and, regretfully, sometimes underengaged and not sufficiently consulted by the Government on matters that significantly impact their ability to best serve their communities. In terms of underutilisation, I am not sure I ever encountered an issue where pharmacists or their representatives were unwilling to engage and discuss how they could provide additional and enhanced services. However, there seems to be an emerging trend, particularly in recent years, where what I would view as positive announcements were made but someone forgot to work out the detail of how that service would be delivered and sometimes forgot to talk to the pharmacists. Who was that person who forgot to talk to the pharmacists? If they did talk, they did not listen. A perfect example was the free hormone replacement therapy, HRT, system. I welcomed the scheme and I commend the Minister for her part in developing it in principle and shepherding it through her Department, the Cabinet and so on, but there seemed to be a major disconnect somewhere along the line with regard to realising that, perhaps, the pharmacists who would actually administer the scheme might have some thoughts or needs with respect to its operation. The Minister may laugh but did she consult the pharmacists?

I do not think the Deputy has-----

Later on, we saw a similar situation in regard to the blister packs. Did the Minister consult the pharmacists? The free contraception scheme is another very positive scheme that our pharmacists are crucial in the delivery of. I have raised with the Minister on a number of occasions the need to significantly increase the upper age threshold for eligibility. Has the Minister increased that age? The scheme was first introduced in 2022 and limited to those aged 17 to 32. The increase to 35 in 2024 was woefully inadequate. Now, in 2026, we are still in the same place. Is the Minister going to tell me today that she is going to increase the age from 32? It still has not happened. At this pace of roll-out, it will take far too long before it is open to all who should be able to avail of it. I am certain that our pharmacists can and would willingly support this delivery but has it happened? I am not aware of any concerns in regard to the logistics of the appropriately expanded service but if there are, I am confident that the Minister could talk to the pharmacists about this and work it out with them. Has the Minister worked it out with them? If the Minister is really eager, she would be willing to work with the pharmacists and ensure that everybody over 32 years of age is able to get free contraception. Otherwise, the only explanation is a lack of political will on the part of Government. As we mark World Pharmacists Week and recognise the significant value that our own pharmacists provide for all our communities, we have a few good points that the Government should take away from today. Yes, it should continue to deliver worthwhile initiatives and I am certain that it will find a very willing partnership in our pharmacists. Let our starting point be viewing them always as crucial and primary partners in primary care. Seek their opinion and expertise at as early a stage as practicable and hear out their concerns in their own capacity to deliver these initiatives. Crucially, hear out what supports might be needed. With that, we can best ensure that policies can succeed in moving from the theory of policy papers to the practical reality that pharmacies delivering primary care services can do better within their communities.

I apologise to the Minister. I missed her opening statement. I was down at the Traveller committee, where we are looking at the health report produced by the committee, which shows damning findings and extreme levels of health inequalities faced by our Travellers as a result of racism, discrimination and neglect. It was welcome that the two junior Ministers engaged on that issue but I think it would be good, at some point, for the Minister to engage with that report as well.

I met Pavee Point recently. I will.

Yes. We might engage as a committee on that because a substantial amount of work and hearings went into that report. That brings me to the point I made previously. We get a lot of statements on the Dáil floor in relation to many issues. We had statements on pharmacy-related issues not too long ago but there are lots of other health issues. I see this in my work as Chair of the health committee. We get such a number of requests on different issues from Government and Opposition members to discuss particular topics. We probably have about ten requests for every single session of the health committee. One of the challenges I have is trying to get as many of those in as I can. As such, there is a long list of issues that warrant teasing out on the Dáil floor and enough time at the committee and I would welcome some kind of engagement on the topics we could discuss here. Our group and other groups put forward issues at Whips' and Dáil business meetings but they do not often make it onto the agenda. It would be good to engage on some of those and also some of the legislative priorities. We engaged over a year ago on the assisted human reproduction Bill. We were told at the time it was urgent, it was coming and was pressing and the committee rushed our consideration over the summer. We worked over August to do that report and a year on we still do not have legislation. My point is just that this Dáil time is really precious and valuable and there are pressing legislative priorities the Minister and I share but I would like to see some of that time dedicated to those, including the right to healthcare accountability and many other issues that could be addressed, like staffing issues in the health service, funding, CHI - the list goes on. Traveller health is one that, based on that report, needs to make it onto the agenda.

It is a related point about how we decide on statements, what kind of statements we have and the discussions we have. It is an important point because I feel strongly, as a citizen and an elected representative, about this Parliament, how we run the Parliament, how we make it more productive and how we serve the citizens of the State best. It is a great honour to be here to represent people and the time we have here is vitally important. Engagement with a senior Minister on these issues is really important and a Minister's time is very precious as well. It is just a point that maybe we could have dialogue on this at some stage. On the pharmacists, I acknowledge there has been a real expansion of the services on offer from community pharmacists. The focus is no longer just on a dispensing-based service, which is rightly the core of the clinical model and the very foundation of our pharmacies. We are seeing a move towards a more expansive and integrated model where pharmacists’ expertise is recognised and utilised. The Minister and her predecessor should be acknowledged for their work to expand services in community pharmacies. It is really important we are seeing the expansion of the work that happens in pharmacies. Too often task forces are set up but do not lead to tangible change. This has not been the case with the expert task force to support the expansion of the role of pharmacy. The task force was established in 2023 and published its findings the following year. Since then we have seen pharmacists enabled to extend certain prescriptions for up to 12 months, the introduction of the common conditions service and the passage of a Bill to allow for pharmacists to represcribe certain contraceptives and I understand that the Department is finally on course to appoint its first Chief Pharmaceutical Officer.

It has done so.

It has; that is great. There has been some real progress and that should be acknowledged and welcomed by both the Minister and her predecessor. It is important that work is happening and it is good to mark it on World Pharmacists Day. As we know, Sláintecare has a strong emphasis on enhancing public health and prevention and the delivery of an integrated healthcare system. Pharmacists have an important role to play in the delivery of these aims. When it comes to public health and prevention, they are already engaged in health promotion, screening and vaccinations but they are capable of more, particularly in the area of prevention. Take, for example, HIV prevention. There is an urgent need to expand access to PrEP into other clinical and community-based settings. The State’s current PrEP programme is too restrictive. We only have 13 public PrEP services. Of the 26 counties served by the PrEP programme, 16 have no public location to access PrEP, while of the 38 private providers of PrEP 33 are based in Dublin. Community pharmacists are part of the solution to these regional inequalities and we need to expand the breadth of healthcare staff eligible to provide PrEP services, and that includes pharmacists. The Sexual Health Strategy commits to: Explore and where possible, implement the best ways to enable wider, timely access to PEP, out-of-hours and for people living at a distance from public STI clinics, e.g, through online solutions, availability through pharmacists and primary care services, following necessary legislative change. Thus it is in the strategy that pharmacists could engage in this work and it would be great to hear from the Minister about where this commitment stands and if any progress has been made since the strategy was published last year. In my capacity as Chair of the health committee I received quite a concerning letter from the Gay Health Network, which represents many of the organisations advocating on sexual health. It said "...despite repeated engagement over almost two years, the South East remains without a publicly accessible PrEP service". That is an entire region without access to a public PrEP service in the south east. The Gay Health Network and others have tried to engage with the HSE on this. They have written and I understand they have not received responses. The network said in its letter that "People living in the South East continue to be denied equitable access to a nationally funded HIV prevention programme that has been available elsewhere in Ireland for several years". There are therefore real concerns about health inequalities and access to prevention. Pharmacists are part of the solution and that issue in the south east needs to be urgently addressed . There should be engagement with the organisations that have been advocating because to date that has not been adequate. Looking at these issues again is on the draft agenda of the health committee. The other area we have seen progress is the introduction of the common conditions service, which has certainly been a positive development. This service allows for pharmacists to assess symptoms and prescribe treatment for eight common conditions, including thrush, shingles and cold sores. However, my problem with this service is every patient must pay for it. The consultation fee is not reimbursed by the State, even if you have a medical card. Earlier this year the Irish Independent reported pharmacists are charging between €30 and €35for this service and any medicines prescribed comes with an additional cost. I accept the medicine cost can be reimbursable if a patient avails of a HSE community drug scheme and that this new common conditions service is still cheaper than visiting a GP if you do not have a medical card or GP visit card. However, why would anyone with a medical card or GP visit card pay for the common conditions service when they could see their GP for free? This undercuts the main reason for thecommon conditions service, which is to divert people away from overstretched GP services. There is an access issue there that needs to be addressed. When the Irish Pharmacy Union first proposed this scheme it estimated nearly 1 million GP consultations for medical card patients could be dealt with more appropriately by a pharmacist. We all know there is a problem with how overstretched GP services are and there is a solution here to free up GPs and provide better access to the common conditions service for people with medical cards. At a minimum medical card patients should be able to avail of the common conditions service free of charge. That is something the Minister might take away and have a think about. Last time we were here we talked about contraception and I will take this opportunity to again raise the matter of prescription-free oral contraceptives. As I have said previously, the World Health Organization recommends prescription-free access to oral contraceptives. This includes both combined oral contraceptives and progestogen-only pills. This would still be treated as behind-the-counter pharmacy access requiring eligibility screening by trained pharmacists before being dispensed. We must remember pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals and they should be allowed to operate at the top of their licence. Community pharmacists have been providing emergency contraception prescription-free since 2011 and real consideration should be given to extending this to oral contraception. This would make the process faster and easier for women and further alleviate pressure on GPs. It would be particularly beneficial for those who are not eligible for the free contraception scheme as it would reduce the cost. It has been three years since the Irish Pharmacy Union told the Oireachtas health committee: "There is no clinical reason for oral contraceptives to be supplied only on foot of a prescription; with proper protocols this is a very safe and effective healthcare intervention." The previous health committee endorsed that call from the IPU and wrote to the then Minister for Health on it, urging him to allow direct access to oral contraceptives through community pharmacies. I ask the Minister to look at that one as well. Also on the topic of contraceptives, there is a need to expand the free contraception scheme in the upcoming budget. The scheme is currently available to women aged 17 to 35 but we know from the National Women's Council and others that age is a barrier to accessing that. In the area of vaccinations, community pharmacists now administer one in every three vaccines under the flu and Covid vaccination programmes but there is scope there for further expansion to utilise those services to the maximum. I thank all the pharmacists around the country for their work, dedication and for the services they provide. They are a vital part of communities and provide accessible and trusted services to people. They are central to the delivery of an integrated care healthcare system as envisioned under Sláintecare.

I thank the Minister for being here. I welcome the opportunity to speak during World Pharmacists Day and to recognise the invaluable contribution made by pharmacists across the country, including in my constituency of Mayo. Mayo people will use any excuse to say "Up Mayo" these days. This year's theme is "Empowering pharmacists for healthier futures" and it is a fitting reminder of the central role pharmacists play in our healthcare system. They are often the most accessible healthcare professionals in our communities and provide advice, support patients, administer vaccines and ensure the safe use of medicines. In many rural towns and villages across Mayo, the local pharmacy is a vital front-line health service and a really trusted point of contact for communities. I recognise the progress that has been made in expanding the role of pharmacists in recent years. Through the Government's common condition service, community pharmacists can assess patients and, where appropriate, prescribe certain prescription-only medicines for a range of common conditions like shingles, impetigo, conjunctivitis, cold sores, allergic rhinitis and uncomplicated urinary tract infections. This means that patients can access treatment more quickly and, in turn, it reduces pressures on our already overburdened GP services and it prevents presentations at accident and emergency departments. Pharmacists also play an important role in supporting women accessing hormone replacement therapy, HRT, with the State now covering the cost of HRT medicines under the national HRT scheme where these treatments have been prescribed by a healthcare professional. I welcome the upcoming secondary legislation, which I know is being worked on at the moment, to provide regulatory guidance and pharmacist training for the contraceptive prescribing service, which will allow repeat prescriptions for some forms of contraception. This is a really important and welcome move. I think especially of those women who are suffering domestic violence or under coercive control where trying to get a GP appointment might be very difficult or where they might be seen going into the doctor. To be able to go into a local pharmacist and get this is key. These reforms recognise the expertise of pharmacists and demonstrate how empowering them to work at the top of their licence can improve access to care, particularly in rural communities such as those throughout Mayo. I also really welcome the newly launched MediBack service, which has been online since 26 August. It is another really good and practical example of the important role our community pharmacists are playing. It is providing a safe and convenient way to return unused or expired medicines correctly, which is protecting our environment but also protecting public health and safety. We lost my nana in 2024. One slowly goes through the process of cleaning out the house but we are finding so many unused medications and to be able to pop into the local pharmacy is helpful. It is similar to what we have with batteries where we have the WEEE collection. Now we have somewhere to go with our medicines because it is too easy to throw them in the bin and we do not know the consequences so I remind everybody to check their cabinets this week. I thank the Minister and her Department for their work on that really practical scheme. I also acknowledge that the demands placed on our pharmacists have increased significantly in recent years because our population is ageing and our healthcare needs are becoming more complex. Pharmacists are taking on an even greater role in preventative care, medicines management and supporting patients to live healthier, longer lives. They consistently demonstrate professionalism and dedication in serving their communities. However, while we are celebrating their contribution, we must also acknowledge the challenges facing them and their struggles. There are a few facing the sector. The most pressing concern expressed to me by pharmacists in Westport and Newport is the ongoing issue of medicine shortages and stock availability. Despite the calm our pharmacists often offer at the counter, they have told me the true nature of their role, which often involves a lot of stress. To add to that, they are dealing with these significant supply issues where they are sometimes spending valuable time late in the evening trying to source alternative supplies of essential medicines, sometimes contacting prescribers to prescribe something alternative and then trying to reassure concerned patients who cannot access the medications they normally rely upon. This often places additional pressure on already busy pharmacies and can create anxiety, particularly in older people and those managing long-term conditions. I think of one story where a lady was coming in for her regular HRT medication and the pharmacist could not provide it for her, which was stressful for him and for her. This pharmacist told me that at one point, up to 300 basic medicines were not available on his shelves at a particular time and reported that at one stage, he even tried to quarter tablets. That is very stressful. In rural counties such as Mayo, these supply disruptions can have an even greater impact because patients often have to travel significant distances to get to their pharmacist and if we are waiting for the medicine to reach Mayo, that can also add to the delay. Community pharmacists are doing everything possible to manage these shortages but they cannot solve systemic supply chain issues on their own. I was told about that lady with the HRT but also about another mother whose child was diagnosed with ADHD after a long waiting process. She went in to collect the medication but could not get it. I know that these issues are also global in nature, with supply channels being driven by a range of factors and the global demand for medicine does continue to rise with the ageing population and chronic conditions. I welcome the work that the Minister has done on this. I know there was a new agreement this year. The Irish Pharmacy Union survey for this year is ongoing and we will not see the effects of that just yet but if we look at the Irish Pharmacy Union's 2025 medicine shortages survey, we can see that 57% of pharmacists reported that medicine shortages had significantly increased over the previous 12 months compared with 82% in 2024. However, the overall scale of the problem remains significant, with that 57% of pharmacists still encountering shortages. The survey suggests that shortages might be beginning to level off rather than worsen but it is not lost on me that pharmacists are continuing to spend significant time sourcing alternatives. As such, I really welcome the new framework agreement that was announced earlier this year between the State, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association and Medicines for Ireland to govern the pricing and supply of medicines until 2029. I know that this agreement aims to improve patient access to medicine, strengthen medicine supply chains and reduce shortages, encourage the early introduction of generic and bio-similar medicines, and maintain the financial stability of the service. It is in this vein that I welcome the programme for Government commitment to support pharmacists to adopt a proactive approach to managing medicine shortages but the Government must continue working with pharmacists, wholesalers, manufacturers and healthcare providers to strengthen medicine supply chains, improve communication around shortages and ensure that patients can access the medicines that they need when they need them. We must also continue to support investment in our pharmacy workforce, particularly in rural areas, so that community pharmacists can remain sustainable and continue delivering essential services close to where people live. Today, in advance of World Pharmacists Day, I thank all pharmacists and pharmacy staff across Ireland but especially across Mayo for their dedication to patient care. I do not want to name all the pharmacists in Mayo but there is one very famous tonic. If anybody is starting to have a bit of a sniffle or to come down with something, he or she is not sent in to see the doctor but, rather, down to Tom Treacy's to get his famous tonic. Nobody knows what is in it but apparently it is a cure for everything. I must also mention my own pharmacist Ronan Lally, who has kept me alive in this new crazy political life. I think we can all agree that we Deputies do not have the healthiest of lifestyles and maybe not that much time to go to the GP, so our pharmacists so often keep us alive. With that, I thank pharmacists for their expertise. Their commitment and service have a real impact on the health and well-being of our communities every day. Happy World Pharmacists Day.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak during statements in advance of World Pharmacists Day. It has been said many times in the Chamber that pharmacists play an extraordinary front-line role in terms of that preventative and community care piece. We know there are over 1,900 community pharmacies across this country. In some ways, they are the unsung heroes of our health system. While there is a lot of focus on our doctors and nurses and other parts of the health service, it is the pharmacists, many of whom run seven-day operations or extended hours, who are at the front line or coalface within our health system. This is particularly true at a time when access to GPs is an issue. The Minister will be fed up listening to me talking about access to GPs and that very real issue that is particularly concentrated in certain parts of this country. In addition, when our hospitals are under enormous strain, it is really critical that we support our pharmacies and our pharmacists to be able to provide as much of that care in the community as possible. About 2.1 million adults visit a pharmacy every single week in this country, which is a phenomenal figure. An extraordinary proportion of our population is accessing healthcare through something that is on our main streets not hidden away. In that regard, I welcome the progress in the past year with regards to the vaccination service, and BowelScreen in particular. It is great that 1,600 pharmacies have now signed up to the BowelScreen programme. The MediBack issue has been a bugbear for a long time. People come to me, particularly when a loved one dies, and there is a lot of medication in the house. It is one of those awful parts of having to deal with the situation when somebody passes away - getting rid of the stuff from the house but with nowhere to go. There is the environmental issue but also the awful waste when it is going nowhere. Therefore, it is fantastic that the MediBack system is now there. I want to raise the need to look at where pharmacies are located across our communities, particularly those communities that do not have as much access to GP care as is possible. The Minister will have heard me talk of this before. In the north inner city, the Dublin 1 area has just over 3,500 people to one GP, whereas the national average is 1,700 to one GP. The reality is that people are much more reliant on their pharmacists for care. In the case of my constituency, there is a population with very complex medical needs. In that regard, we need to look very closely at how we support our pharmacies. The other key point concerns who turns up at our emergency departments. In particular, I think of the Mater hospital being the local GP for many people in my community. When we look at the national figures, people did not have a GP referral for 72% of emergency department presentations last year. That is a wake-up call in terms of how people are accessing health services. To a much greater extent, they should be relying on GPs but because GPs are not accessible and because people cannot get a timely appointment, they end up going to the emergency department. I say that in the context that we need to better resource and support our pharmacies, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The deprivation grant was rolled out to GPs a number of years ago, which is certainly very welcome, but it is not going to change anybody’s world. It is a small amount of money but it is an important reflection and indication to those GP services in disadvantaged areas of the work they are doing. It was changed last year, and some GPs in the most deprived areas are no longer getting it, which is an issue I need to take up with the Minister. I have been putting forward parliamentary questions but I am making very little progress with the HSE on finding out who is now getting it. The key point is that there is a deprivation grant. It should be going to the GPs who have the most disadvantaged set of patients. Similarly, we need to see the deprivation grant going to pharmacies as well. Effectively, they are providing a front-line health service in areas where people cannot easily get a GP. The IPU has put a cost on this of somewhere in the region of €2 million, which is a very small amount, but it would go far in supporting pharmacies in disadvantaged areas. The other key issue I want to raise concerns prevention and the rollout of vaccinations. We know that community pharmacists play a big role in administering the flu vaccine every year. A source of frustration is the lack of co-ordination with regard to vaccine supplies. Every year, pharmacists contact me to say they have run out of stock, while other pharmacists contact me to ask if I know anyone or any local school that might need the flu vaccine. There is a lack of co-ordination when I talk to the HSE locally about where supplies and stocks are. At a time when we need to be mindful of how money is spent in our health service, it is ridiculous to think that this co-ordination is not there. Women’s health is obviously a very important issue for the Minister, as it is for me. The contraception prescribing service that will operate from early next year will be wonderful. However, to repeat myself, why is the cut-off at the age of 35? I appreciate that it is about money but the key issue is that this is a really important service for women. We need the Minister, as a woman, to champion this within the health budget. We look forward hopefully to some progress on that. There are two final issues I want to raise. The first concerns the reports this week on the changes to the drugs payment scheme. A number of people have contacted me who are particularly concerned because the drugs payment scheme has been a lifesaver for them. In a cost-of-living crisis, the prospect that the drugs payment scheme threshold may change is very frightening for people, particularly given what was reported with regard to long-term illnesses, which was some sort of co-payment. As the Minister knows, the list of illnesses on the long-term illness scheme has not changed in donkey’s years and, of course, there is a huge demand to add new illnesses to the scheme. The critical issue for those with long-term illnesses who are not on the long-term illness scheme is that there might be changes to how they pay for their drugs. It is a great concern. I ask the Minister to clarify whether there are changes afoot, given the reports we saw. We have talked today about community pharmacists. Obviously, there are a lot of pharmacists within hospitals but there are also pharmacists within addiction services. They play an enormous and profoundly important role in the lives of those on a recovery path, particularly with regard to the opiates stabilisation programme. It is important to highlight that a number of sessional pharmacists were taken on in the 1990s and 2000s as a fix. They were taken on on a contract basis, and that has been rolled over every year because there was effectively no space for them to be taken on on a permanent, full-time basis. They have been with the service for many years but they accrue no pension rights. The reality is that they have fought and fought the HSE on this issue but they have made no progress. I will take it up with the Minister on an individual basis but it is important for me to raise their situation on the floor of the Dáil. They have provided a vital service but they feel that lies have been told to them by the HSE. The reality is that people have died without any pension entitlement, particularly death benefits for their families. They have provided a service that is hidden from the rest of society but certainly in the communities I represent, it is a vital service. They feel very much abused and disrespected in the roles they have played. I will take it up with the Minister outside the House. It is important to recognise that the pharmacists we are talking about here today are not just on our main streets, although they are wonderful, but also the ones in silent but really important roles in our health service, keeping people alive.

As we work to mark World Pharmacy Week with World Pharmacists Day tomorrow, I want to thank pharmacists and their teams across Galway East and throughout the country for the work they do every day. In towns and villages across my constituency, the pharmacy is somewhere people know they can turn to. They can walk through the door, speak to someone they trust and get professional advice about something that is worrying them. That might be a parent concerned about a child. It could be somebody adjusting to a new prescription or an older person who needs a little extra time to understand their medication. Those conversations are crucial. The reassurance, patience and personal attention that pharmacists provide make a real difference to people’s lives. I do not think we can ever underestimate that. In rural communities in particular, the value of having that expertise close to home cannot be overstated. Accessing healthcare can mean arranging a lift, taking time off work or travelling a considerable distance. The local pharmacy provides an accessible connection to care. I also acknowledge all of the pharmacy technicians and support staff. Their contribution is essential to the service that patients receive. There has been meaningful progress in support of this sector, which I welcome. The community pharmacy agreement provides over €75 million in additional investment across 2025 and 2026, and the common conditions service launched in January is an important expansion of the pharmacists’ clinician role. However, if we want pharmacies to take on greater responsibilities, we must address the pressures they face. I would highlight four of them today. The first is financial sustainability. Pharmacies face rising operating costs, just like other businesses, while carrying significant healthcare responsibilities. Funding must reflect the professional time, staffing and facilities needed to deliver services safely. The second is workforce capacity. New services require trained people and time with patients. We have to support recruitment, retention and continuing professional development, including for pharmacies that serve rural communities like those I represent in east Galway. The third is that medical shortages can cause understandable anxiety for patients and create considerable additional work for pharmacists in the context of trying to secure supplies or arrange appropriate alternatives. We need to strengthen co-ordination and ensure that pharmacy teams have timely information and practical support. The fourth is administration support. I welcome the legislation that will enable greater electronic record-keeping. We need to ensure that it translates into less duplication and more time for patient care. These issues deserve attention because there is considerable potential for pharmacies to do more. I strongly support making the pharmacy the first port of call for a wider range of appropriate healthcare needs. The common conditions service already enables pharmacists to assess and treat eight specified conditions under approved clinical protocols. This highlights that more than 90% of pharmacies are delivering it. That gives us a strong foundation. The planned evaluation should examine patients' experiences, access and outcomes and help identify where these services can safely expand. We need to be ambitious about the next stage. That will be absolutely crucial for patients because being able to receive appropriate care locally can mean getting a problem assessed sooner. It can also help free up GP capacity for people who need the services of a doctor. Knowing when to refer somebody on is central to the pharmacist's role. Expansion should strengthen co-operation between pharmacists, GPs and healthcare professionals, with clear referral pathways and better communication for everyone. I also welcome the legislation that enables pharmacists to prescribe contraception. Its implementation offers an opportunity to make care more accessible and convenient for women. We should ensure that participating pharmacies are supported and that women understand how to access this service and receive all the support they require. The new medicines optimisation service is another important development. People managing several medicines, particularly vulnerable patients, can benefit from support to understand their treatment and take medicines correctly. We should build on that work, including through better co-ordination when someone leaves hospital with changes to their medication. That is really important. There is also significant scope for pharmacies to play a greater role in education and prevention. Vaccination, smoking cessation, blood pressure checks and support to participate in screening programmes are all areas in respect of which accessible community care can make a difference. I have just come from a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts at which representatives from the HSE discussed with us the money that is being spent. The one thing everyone continues to agree on is the need to move care out to the community in order to free up space, capacity and theatres within our hospitals such that people will get preventative care as close to home as possible and do not end up in emergency departments. I would like to see a clear plan for the next phase of expansion that sets out: the services to be developed; the training and funding that will be required; and how rural communities like those in east Galway will benefit. Public awareness has to be part of such a plan. People need to know what their pharmacy can offer, when to use it and what changes may apply. Affordability for patients has to be considered at every step. Pharmacists should be closely involved in shaping this work. It goes without saying that whatever the next phase of expanding the pharmacist's role in our communities is, they must be consulted and engaged. I again thank our pharmacists and pharmacy teams right across east Galway and the remainder of the country. They have earned the trust of their communities through years of personal service. We should recognise that contribution by supporting them to use their skills more fully and deliver more care close to home.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Murnane O’Connor agus an tAire, an Teachta, Carroll MacNeill atá imithe anois. This is indeed a wonderful day. We are empowering pharmacists for healthier futures. There is a massive opportunity, as others have said, to capitalise on that. I thank the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, their teams in the Department, the task force, the Health Service Executive, the Irish Pharmacy Union - present in the Gallery are President Ms Caoimhe McAuley and her team - and all of the people who work in hospitals, community pharmacies and the industry in general throughout the country for the massive contribution that has been made over the years. The Minister of State and the Minister recognise the valuable contribution pharmacists make to people's health, consistently delivering new initiatives and being able, professional, proficient, efficient and willing to rise to any challenges or opportunities that arise. Probably the most salient development that will be of benefit in the context of the safety of patients, but also from the perspective of the Exchequer, is that relating to the medicines optimisation scheme. We have the common conditions service, MediBack and the very worthwhile, softer and more social service available that is the safe pharmacy programme, a facility for anyone experiencing domestic violence to present at a community pharmacy and receive the support of a properly and appropriately trained team. Pharmacists also have a health promotion role, involvement in bowel screening and will soon be able to prescribe contraceptives. I will pick up on a point made by Deputy Cullinane about the potential for chronic disease projects going forward. That is something the Irish Pharmacy Union and Healthy Meath rolled out about three or four years ago. IT went down exceptionally well and the pilot has been carried out. With both the Minister of State's support and funding, that is something which would be almost ready to be rolled out nationally. Pharmacists are also especially important in areas of social deprivation and disadvantage. Deputy Rice mentioned the Travelling community, In Navan, County Meath, pharmacists play a supportive role across the areas of addiction, compliance in respect of medicines and general family support. That should be recognised. There is also a soft and social role for pharmacists in the support of older people in terms of health literacy and - a simple point - loneliness. We know from a 2023 report that 20% of Ireland's population reported that they experience loneliness. That compares with an EU average of 13%. Again, that feeds into the customer satisfaction rating of approximately 98% for community pharmacies. Everything else has already been said, so I will not duplicate anything. My recommendation to the Minister of State is to maintain the momentum and to continue to invest and provide appropriate resources. Pharmacists will provide more services to communities. That will increase healthcare capacity and play an even greater role in meeting people's healthcare needs. I draw the Minister of State's attention to the IPU's submission for budget 2027. Every proposal it contains would deliver a significant return on investment, not solely in a monetary sense but also in the context of the safety of the healthcare that is provided to members of the public. It would also have a benefit for the Exchequer, but the key aspect is safety. It would present an opportunity, in exchange for a very small investment, to gain a massive amount for healthcare. That has already been demonstrated by the Minister of State's willingness to negotiate a very robust community pharmacy agreement. The potential to expand on that is effectively limitless. We are dealing with a community of people. I call it a community because the people involved in pharmacy across the three different disciplines are committed, efficient, professional and trained to the highest standards. This goes back to the retail experience in particular. If the door is open, you take whatever challenge comes at you. You try to meet the needs of people where they are at. That is even done in the context of medicine shortages, and often the customer never knows that there is a crisis happening in the background.