Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for the question; it is an important one. I thank colleagues for their support on the approach taken to date. I want to be absolutely clear in relation to the intention with regard to the HRT initiative. Budget 2025 aimed to continue the good work ongoing to improve women's healthcare, and in particular to support women on their menopause journey. It was originally intended the State would pay for the HRT product - for the medicine - and pharmacies would be free to continue to charge a professional service fee to women who are not eligible either for the GMS or the drug payment scheme, DPS, while recognising there are many women who are getting this for free already. The programme for Government then re-emphasised the scope of that commitment.

I have prioritised substantial engagement with the Irish Pharmacy Union to find a pathway forward on the issue. I listened to its position - and this is important - that its members did not want to see the cost of medicine and the dispensing fee decoupled under a State-funded arrangement. Nevertheless, the Deputy will be aware that I did of course give them that option to charge the fee they are currently charging. In the spirit of compromise I offered to invest healthcare funding on dispensing fees, which was not intended from a healthcare budget perspective and not intended as Government policy in this space. I offered every participating pharmacy a €5 dispensing fee for each and every HRT product. The €5 fee is the highest fee paid under the community drug scheme to date. It is essentially a 15% to 20% increase on the existing dispensing fee for those products under the GMS and DPS at present. I made that in order that it would be an uplift for all of the women who are on the GMS or DPS. It would be a 15% to 20% uplift on the average dispensing fee paid in that case. Of course it would be €5 for all of those private patients who are paying at the moment. I made that offer to every pharmacy by writing directly to them. I also spoke at the IPU conference last Saturday.

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