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have been paying for blister packs as a private service. Another group of people have been getting blister packs for free because their pharmacists are giving them blister packs for free. I thank those pharmacists. There is a third group of people whose pharmacists have been giving them … different scheme. That is wrong, and I am glad that we have the opportunity to highlight that very wrong practice that some pharmacists in the State have been carrying out. This afternoon, I spoke with the regulator. It, along with the HSE, will be looking at this issue

Blister packs are fundamentally important. They are not a luxury; they are vital. I spoke to a pharmacist yesterday who explained what happens to dementia patients and patients with a cognitive impairment who are not on a blister pack. Many often end up going back into hospital because … back with the GP, and an assembly process then takes place, usually by a technician, and finally then it is verified by a pharmacist. It costs in the region of €70 per hour. This is a loss-making exercise for pharmacists. That is what is happening. They

Deputies for their contributions today, particularly Deputy Toole for her knowledge. What she spoke of was very informative for me. I know some pharmacists in my own area of Carlow and I can only say their work and commitment to the people in the area is brilliant. First … service as a private business. It has always been a private service and we have heard the range of prices, if any, that pharmacists charge their patients. The State has never agreed to fund this monitored dosage system or blister packing. The HSE has consistently taken steps

work things out. We all know that blister packing is separate from phased dispensing, but the reality is that many pharmacists were using the money they were receiving for phased dispensing to put together blister packs for their patients. Blister packing is the dinosaur of medical technology … pharmacy agreement that the Government would reduce from four to two the number of criteria to be eligible for phased dispensing. As many pharmacists will not be getting that money for phased dispensing, the free blister pack service that many patients were availing of is coming

understand, and I acknowledged this at the time the community pharmacy agreement was being reached, that phased dispensing was being used by some pharmacists to offset the cost of blister packs. Whatever about the rights and wrongs of that, which is what I said to the Minister … Government and the Minister are tone deaf. I have no problem with transparency when it comes to the Minister, the Government or pharmacists. I have no problem with what the Minister called "targeted probity processes" being put in place to examine what pharmacists were or were not doing

need them on the basis of a clinical recommendation. It came as a shock to many patients when they received letters from pharmacists or were told orally by pharmacists that the blister packs that were previously funded and paid for, as they saw it, were now going … couple of months. The reason she gave for putting it on hold was rightly, that there is a lot of additional work for pharmacists. They are administering the flu vaccine and the Covid vaccine, which I got myself in a pharmacy last week. There is obviously additional work

clarify some pieces of misinformation that in the media that have been bandied about in the Chamber this evening. The role of a pharmacist and their team, including pharmacy technicians, is a very professional one of safeguarding and ensuring that the right patient gets the right medicine … years, the delivery of complex medicines has increased, as has the complexity of ensuring that the right patient gets the right medicine. Initially, pharmacists offered an opt-in for an optional blister packing service. Then it became slightly more formal with the recognition of phased dispensing. That could

anger at the Government's decision to withdraw funding supports for blister pack medication has been laid bare. The reaction has been extraordinary. Pharmacists and carers have been inundated with messages of fear and disbelief. People who have never contacted a TD before have been calling constituency offices … vulnerable patients, undermine medication adherence, overwhelm carers and potentially lead to avoidable GP visits and hospital admissions. It is a decision that pharmacists, carers and front-line workers say is a false economy. I will put some clear questions to the Minister. Why is blister pack support being

reply say there would be any agreement. In fact, what it said was that this is a private matter between patients and pharmacists. I understand that this was funded indirectly; I said so at the time. It seems that this was funded through the phased dispensing scheme … that pharmacists were essentially offsetting the cost of blister packs through phased dispensing. Whatever about the rights and wrongs of that at this point in time, many of these people who were previously getting it funded now have to pay and they simply cannot afford

deny that there was or has been an issue at all until, that is, the public outcry became much too much. Pharmacists are being asked to play an ever more important and front-line role within our communities, and it is time Fine Gael treated them with respect … from January, the roll-out was delayed because the Minister simply could not get the job done on time. That was not a pharmacist issue; that was the Minister's issue, and so too is this. While the Government attempts to muddy the water, the fact

them takes seven tablets a day for conditions, including blood pressure issues, mental health needs and recovery from a recent heart attack. Their pharmacist has now told them that they will face an extra €50 per month. This is money that they simply do not have … that. The evidence is clear: removing access to monitored dosage systems will worsen medication adherence, increase hospital admissions and deepen health inequality. Community pharmacists are uniquely placed to prevent that harm, but they cannot continue to provide this service at a loss. Healthcare should be based on clinical

higher health care costs. Vulnerable groups, particularly older adults, people with dementia and those on multiple medicines are at the highest risk. Community pharmacists are uniquely placed to mitigate this risk. They will support targeted, assessed use, clear eligibility criteria, ongoing review of governance and alignment with patient

motion to the Dáil. The Government is not opposing it, which I welcome, but we need a solution. A lot of our community pharmacists are being stretched very thin as things are. The agreement the Minister needs to reach with the pharmacies needs to ensure that vulnerable patients

that situation should never have arisen. In this case, once again, the pharmacy union should be not in that situation. Pharmacists are being dragged here and there having to explain to the people to whom they have been so good and caring down through the years that this

Minister and from all sides of the House. I accept the Minister's explanation that there was a private service, that some pharmacists were giving out a free service and that others were charging to the Government with an incorrect charging rate. I accept all of that. However

blister pack is fundamentally important for the most vulnerable. I have spoken to pharmacists across Mayo who say they will have to cap the number of patients who get blister packs. It is crucially important that the Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor

provide funding for this from January is dangerous, callous and mean. I ask that the Government would sit down with the pharmacists and work out a deal so that people know they will have their blister packs in January. This has been raised repeatedly with me by constituents

funding for blister packs; and if she will provide details of any cost-benefit analysis undertaken before deciding to discontinue this service, which pharmacists have described as critical for adherence and reducing hospital admissions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73406/25

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she will engage with pharmacists to develop an alternative funding mechanism for monitored dosing systems, in view of warnings from patient advocacy groups and charities that the removal of State support will lead to medication errors, increased hospitalisations

asked the Minister for Health if she will intervene to ensure that patients are not charged for blister packs of medications prepared by pharmacists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72621/25

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health if the PCRS is instructing pharmacists participating in the free HRT to investigate their patients' sex assigned at birth where they suspect it differs from the gender on their medical records; if so, the legal basis on which this

Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if pharmacists participating in the free HRT scheme have been advised on a matter by the PCRS (details supplied); if so, the legal basis on which this is done; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73113/25

number of WTE staff, by job title, working within the pharmacy department of Our Lady's Hospital, Navan; and if a senior pharmacist is on call after hours and at the weekends. [71685/25

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health if it is HSE policy that pharmacists participating in the free HRT scheme must ascertain a patient's sex assigned at birth when they suspect this differs from their gender marker in medical records; if so, the legal and medical

Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Health if her Department has assessed the impact of the expansion of pharmacist prescribing on GP workload in north County Dublin; if data is available on how this reform will improve access to GP-led healthcare in communities

risk impact assessment, specifically examining effects on vulnerable groups; if she will commit to co-designing revised criteria for phased dispensing with GPs, pharmacists, disability services, and patient groups (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68088/25