1240. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the charging by pharmacists for blister packs given some pharmacists are now charging €5, €10 or €15 for these packs to medical card holders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37778/26]
Topics / Pharmacy Services
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsPharmacy Services
169 questions from 58 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 13 October 2026.
169
questions
166 written, 3 oral
58
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
4
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 2 |
| February 2025 | 2 |
| March 2025 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 13 |
| May 2025 | 4 |
| June 2025 | 11 |
| July 2025 | 2 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 3 |
| October 2025 | 7 |
| November 2025 | 7 |
| December 2025 | 18 |
| January 2026 | 25 |
| February 2026 | 19 |
| March 2026 | 3 |
| April 2026 | 5 |
| May 2026 | 30 |
| June 2026 | 3 |
| July 2026 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 6 |
| October 2026 | 1 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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27
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21
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20
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13
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5
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5
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5
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4
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
1326. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the measures in place to ensure that pharmacy graduates from newly established programmes, including that at South East Technological University, can access sufficient supervised practice placements in hospital and community pharmacy settings across the south and south-east of Ireland; if his Departme…
1327. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide details on the number of pharmacy students currently enrolled across all Higher Education Institutions offering accredited pharmacy programmes in Ireland, broken down by institution; the projected number of pharmacy graduates expected to enter the workforce annually over the next fi…
522. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland’s plan to increase fees by 42% when inflation is forecast at significantly lower that this; if she considers this to be proportionate to what pharmacies facing 3% CPI can reasonably absorb; if she will stay the Statutory Instrument pending clarity; and if she will make a statement on the mat…
523. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the basis on which the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland has determined that a 42% increase in registration fees over three years is proportionate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35839/26]
524. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to the fact that pay costs at the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland have increased by 35% since 2021 and now absorb 55 cent of every euro received by the organisation; if she is satisfied that this level of administrative expenditure represents value for money for registrants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35840/…
525. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the number of staff employed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland in each of the years 2021 to 2024; the number earning over €60,000 in each of those years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35841/26]
526. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if her Department carried out any independent assessment of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland's proposed fee increase before the relevant Statutory Instrument was prepared; if so, the findings of that assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35842/26]
527. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she will consider requiring the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland to phase its fee increases in line with CPI projections rather than implementing a 42% increase over three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35843/26]
528. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if registrants of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland were formally consulted on the proposed 42% fee increase; if so, the outcome of that consultation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35844/26]
544. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health if consideration has been given to a change in the law regarding prescription collection after hours; and whether patients can provide evidence that they have that medicine, a prescription and valid ID. [35926/26]
261. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Health if her Department is aware of pharmacies unable to fulfil prescriptions to patients due to external factors such as supply chain issues; if her Department records such instances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35748/26]
1208. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide a breakdown by county of the number of pharmacies currently participating in the Common Conditions Service; if she will specifically outline the uptake rate in County Cork; the steps that are being taken to maximise participation among pharmacies that have not yet joined the service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3517…
1209. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if her Department has reviewed the findings of previous annual medicine shortages surveys conducted by the Irish Pharmacy Union in collaboration with University College Cork; the specific measures have been taken to address medicine shortages that have been identified as placing additional workload on community pharmacists; if she will outline whether a na…
1210. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health 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, given that the Heads of this Bill were approved in March 2026 and identified as priority legislation in the Government Summer 2026 Legislative Programme; what consultations have taken place …
1211. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will outline the projected number of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine administrations expected to be delivered through community pharmacy in 2026 under the new publicly funded service introduced under the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025; the monitoring arrangements that are in place to evaluate uptake among eligible GMS cardholders over 65 year…
1212. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health in light of the recent HIQA recommendation to extend BowelScreen eligibility to those aged 50 to 54, the specific role community pharmacists are envisaged to play in supporting awareness, registration, and patient navigation within the expanded programme; the timeline for formalising this pharmacy involvement as committed to under the Community Pharmacy Ag…
1213. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide an update on the timeline for pharmacy software vendors to implement the system changes required before community pharmacies can avail of the new electronic record keeping provisions signed into law by her Department in April 2026, effective from 30 June 2026; whether her Department is actively engaging with vendors to prevent a gap bet…
1214. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the total funding claimed through the new Pharmacy Training Grant portal since it went live in March 2026; the number of pharmacy contractors who have submitted claims to date; whether her Department has assessed if the current grant levels are sufficient to meet the professional development needs of pharmacists, particularly in rural communities across Co…
275. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to provide an update on the efforts being made to establish an EU pharmaceutical taskforce by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32941/26]
1195. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of community pharmacies in County Cork participating in the Common Conditions Service as of the most recent date available; the number of consultations delivered through the service in Cork to date; the number of pharmacies in Cork selected as Data Champions for the evaluation of the service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3313…
1196. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health given that the Common Conditions Service consultation fee is currently borne by the patient, whether she will consider removing or subsidising this fee for medical card holders, particularly in areas of higher socio-economic disadvantage including parts of County Cork, to ensure equitable access; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33131/26]
277. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Health for an update on her Department's engagement with pharmacists on the cost of blister packs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31131/26]
124. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health the up-to-date position on enhancing the position of community pharmacies as health promotion and wellness hubs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28384/26]
2775. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has conducted research into restricting the sale of vaping products to pharmacies only, similar to measures introduced in Australia; if so, if she will publish or share this research; and the policy considerations currently under review in this area. [24148/26]