Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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422. To ask the Minister for Health if any analysis has been conducted by the Government on pharmacy fees per item between 2015 and 2023. [23581/24]

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 healthcare service reform.

In that regard, various approaches to extending the scope of practice of community pharmacists are being progressed by my Department. The implementation of these necessitates engagement with a range of stakeholders and full consideration of all the relevant legislative and operational issues involved. The establishment and work of the Expert Taskforce to support the expansion of the role of pharmacists in Ireland is evidence of my commitment to that aim.

In addition, there has been ongoing engagement between Department officials and the Irish Pharmacy Union in regard to the potential to extend the scope of practice of community pharmacists and the contract enablers needed to implement that.

The regulations governing the pharmacy fee structure are set out in the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (No. 34 of 2017) and in S.I. No. 639 of 2019, the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (Payments to Community Pharmacy Contractors) Regulations 2019, which put the current fee structure in place, with effect from 1 January 2020.

Under Section 42(14) of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 the pharmacy fee structure must be reviewed every third year after 2020. My Department has been carrying out a comprehensive review of the pharmacy fee structure in the context of its engagement with the IPU and the intended expansion of the scope of pharmacy practice. This review has included, among other matters, an analysis of overall pharmacy fees, fees per scheme, and fees per item dispensed over several years, including between 2015 and 2023.

I believe that there is a real opportunity to work collaboratively with community pharmacists, and with other healthcare providers, to make a significant difference to patient outcomes. 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.