Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1808. To ask the Minister for Health if he will report on the shortages of hormone replacement therapy; when the issue will be resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30409/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important query. Colleagues in the department and across the health sector continue to work to resolve the issues around supply of Hormone Replacement Therapies. A stakeholder meeting was held last week with representatives from the Department, HPRA and HSE to discuss and assess the supply of HRT medicines. 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, 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.

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.