Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree and acknowledge this is something the Deputy has been advocating for and pushing on repeatedly. We greatly value the work that pharmacists and pharmacies do in terms of their place within the health and social care service. I fully agree that the practice of pharmacy and the provision of pharmaceutical care has the potential to be substantially enhanced to deliver more care and it can really help in terms of the pressure on patients, GPs, and on primary care. My ambition, and that of the Government, is to work with pharmacists to make sure that we can have them working to the full extent of their practice and training, which they are not at the moment. There are several pieces of work ongoing in the Department with the HSE and in consultation with the Irish Pharmacy Union as well. These include a proposal for implementing a minor ailment scheme. Essentially, this would allow medical card patients to get over-the-counter medicines without having to go the GP for a prescription, which they currently have to do. We are looking at an enhanced role for pharmacists in the current contraceptive scheme, particularly around oral contraction. We are looking at more involvement of pharmacists in the delivery of the seasonal flu vaccine.

For all this to work it is essential we have the availability of the appropriate workforce, so work is also underway to assess emerging risks and opportunities with respect to the ongoing availability of pharmacists in Ireland. I will have a report on that in the coming weeks. I fully agree there is a lot more pharmacists can do and much more value they can add. We are actively pursuing various measures to that effect.

See this speech in context