Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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535. To ask the Minister for Health the way in which pharmacies will be reimbursed for medications and items distributed under the free contraception scheme. [45799/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with the Programme for Government and Women’s Health Action Plan commitments to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort, the free contraception scheme for women aged 17-25 was launched by Minister Donnelly on Wednesday 14th September.

Funding of approximately €9m has been allocated for the scheme in Budget 2022. The scheme is now open to all 17-25 year-old women ordinarily resident in Ireland and provides for:

- The cost of prescription contraception;

- The cost of necessary consultations with medical professionals to discuss suitable contraception for individual patients and to enable prescription of same;

- The cost of fitting and/or removal of various types of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) plus any necessary checks, by medical professionals certified to fit/remove same;

- The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove LARCs;

- The cost of providing the wide range of contraceptive options currently available to GMS (medical) card holders, which are also available through this scheme, including contraceptive injections, implants, IUS and IUDs (coils), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill, including emergency contraception.

The legal framework for the scheme is provided by the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act, 2022, which was enacted in July, 2022. The contraception provisions of the Act were commenced on the 14th September, 2022.

Citizen engagement information and publicity campaigns to support and promote the roll out of the scheme were launched on the 14th September by the Department’s Press and Communications Team, the HSE’s Communications team and relevant subject matter experts in the Department and HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme.

Digital information regarding the scheme, how to access it and wider information on contraceptive options is available through www.sexualwellbeing.ie; printed contraceptive choices materials will be placed in GP surgeries from later in September.

Following discussions with organisations representing service providers, the HSE has set up claims pathways and systems for both pharmacies and medical practitioners providing services under the scheme. In order to provide a more detailed response on the processes involved, and as this is a service matter, I have also asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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536. To ask the Minister for Health the steps that he is taking to address the shortage of pharmacists. [45800/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Pharmacists wishing to practise in Ireland must be registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI – the Pharmacy Regulator). The number of registered pharmacists on the Register of Pharmacists held and maintained by the PSI has continued to grow steadily, with an average increase of 187 registrants each year over the past five years. As at 4 May 2022, 6848 pharmacists are currently registered with the PSI, under established processes based in Irish and EU law.

I understand that currently there are reports of a current workforce issue, particularly in relation to community pharmacy. The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) has been liaising with stakeholders, including the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), on efforts being taken within the sector to understand and address the issue. In February 2022, PSI met with a number of superintendent pharmacists and the IPU. The PSI also circulated a survey on behalf of the IPU to all registrants to support efforts to understand and address the issue in the short term. The fieldwork on the research was undertaken online by the IPU between 22 March and 8 April 2022. The results of which have just been finalised and recommendations have been prepared by the IPU based on their findings. The report is currently under review by the Department of Health who will continue to liaise with relevant stakeholders on this matter.

In developing its Corporate Strategy 2021-2023, the PSI was aware, through its role as the pharmacy regulator as well as through reports from stakeholders, of an increasing risk to the continued availability of a pharmacist workforce. This highlighted a need to focus on community and hospital pharmacy, with a concern being that the issue might be exacerbated into the future. The PSI are currently undertaking a project, due to run across 2022-’23, titled ‘Emerging Risks to the Future Pharmacy Workforce’. This project is set to “assess emerging risks to the continued availability of a professional pharmacy workforce within community and hospital pharmacy in Ireland”.

The European Commission is also currently supporting a health and social care workforce planning strategy and action plan, a health and social care workforce planning model, health and social care workforce projections and gap analysis project. Support includes recommendations for health and social care workforce reforms.

This is a complex problem with many contributing factors and multiple stakeholders. Workforce challenges are being experienced in other sectors nationally, and in the community pharmacy sector in a range of other countries. However, robust data for Ireland is needed to be able to determine the current landscape, assess future health system needs and understand existing sectoral challenges now and into the future. It will be on the basis of gathering and analysing this up-to-date, robust and relevant data, that recommendations can be proposed to address Ireland’s needs as our healthcare system evolves, and in the context of Sláintecare implementation.

I supported the inclusion of pharmacists on the critical skills occupations list and that Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD, announced on the 20th June of this year changes made by Statutory Instrument to the employment permits system which includes adding the occupation of Pharmacist to the Critical Skills Occupations List. This means that Pharmacists are now eligible for a Critical Skills Employment Permit.