Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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440. To ask the Minister for Health if pharmacy fees will be restored (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23728/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I recognise the significant role community pharmacists play in the delivery of patient care and acknowledge the potential for this role to be developed further in the context of health service reform.

The regulations governing the pharmacy fee structure that were made under section 9 of the Financial Emergency Measures in Public Interests (FEMPI) Act 2009 expired at the end of 2019.

Under the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, these regulations had to be replaced by 1 January 2020 in order to maintain a statutory basis for contractor payments and to prescribe the fees payable from that date.

The current pharmacy fee structure was put in place by the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (Payments to Community Pharmacy Contractors) Regulations 2019 – S.I. 639 of 2019 – which came into effect from 1 January 2020.

Since then, the overall spend on fees paid to community pharmacists under the community drug schemes has continued to rise year-on-year, including by €95.7m more in 2022 than in 2019. This is an increase of 30.5% on 2019. This indicates the substantial investment made by the Government to keep pace with the increased activity across the community drug schemes.

Under Section 42(14) of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, the pharmacy fee structure must be reviewed every 3 years after 2020. Therefore, a review will take place in 2023 and work in that regard has already commenced.

Of course, any publicly funded pharmacy service expansion should address unmet public healthcare needs, improve access to existing public health services, and provide better value for money.