Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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625. To ask the Minister for Health the status of his engagements with suppliers in respect of oestrogel. [26011/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I recently met with key stakeholders involved in the supply of HRT products to the Irish market. Present at this meeting were representatives of suppliers of HRT, the HPRA, PSI, the HSE, clinical representatives from the National Women and Infants Health Programme, and the Irish Pharmaceutical Union.

Based on information provided by companies involved in the recent HRT shortages, we now appear to have entered a stabilisation period in supply. During this stabilisation period, it is essential that patients do not seek supplies of medicines over and above their normal requirements as doing so will disrupt existing stock levels and hamper the supply of medicines for others. Following my meeting with key stakeholders involved in the supply of HRT products to the Irish market it was agreed to establish a multi-stakeholder group to closely monitor the supply of HRT until the issue is fully resolved.

The HPRA publishes a medicinal product shortages list on its website, with the reason for the shortage, the expected dates for the return of supply and in some cases, such as HRT shortages, the HSE’s clinical guidance on the management of patient treatment in response to medicine shortages. The information is made available to assist healthcare professionals in managing medicine shortages when they do arise and reduce their impact on patients. The information relating to shortages on the HPRA website is dynamic and changes depending on the current information the HPRA has to hand, including removal from the list when a shortage has been resolved.

The HPRA will continue to liaise with suppliers of HRT medicines over the coming weeks with a view to securing updates and commitments regarding the restoration of normal supplies for patients as soon as possible.