Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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61. To ask the Minister for Health to outline his plans to develop the role pharmacists will play in the community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39406/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I believe that pharmacists can do more for our health service. They can do more in our communities. Pharmacists are highly trusted, highly accessible and highly skilled. They’re in every town and village in Ireland. Pharmacists in the community already deliver many important services such as advice on prescription and non-prescription medicines, health interventions such as smoking cessation advice and healthy eating advice, and vaccinations.

In July 2023, I established the Expert Taskforce to Support the Expansion of the Role of Pharmacy. The remit of the Taskforce was to identify and support the delivery of specific objectives, which will serve to align services and practices that can be delivered by pharmacists, and pharmacies, with the needs of the health service and patients.

The Taskforce submitted their interim report to me in October of 2023. Extending the validity of prescriptions, and extension of prescriptions by pharmacists, was recommended by the Expert Taskforce. Officials in my Department, in collaboration with stakeholders, arranged for the implementation of this change, which began earlier this year.

The Taskforce continued to work together until July 2024. In August 2024, I accepted their recommendations and published their final report. The Taskforce recommended that pharmacists should be able to prescribe for a range of common conditions. They recommended an initial list of eight conditions which can be extended over time as the service evolves. The Taskforce also recommended the development, over the coming years, of more widespread models of pharmacist prescribing across the health service.

Enabling pharmacists to prescribe for common conditions (often called minor ailments) means pharmacists can provide advice and treat common conditions in the community. This will enable pharmacists to manage common conditions by offering advice, and, when appropriate, prescribing prescription-only medicines through established protocols.

I have established an Implementation Oversight Group which has representation from a number of organisations, including the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and the Irish Pharmacy Union.

The Implementation Oversight Group will be responsible for ensuring implementation of the common conditions service, development and delivery of training for pharmacists, optimising operational aspects of the service, overseeing the development of the necessary secondary legislation, and preparing and delivering communications to the public and other healthcare providers on these changes. I have asked that this service be put in place by early 2025.

The evolving healthcare landscape in Ireland necessitates innovative approaches to improve access to care. Pharmacist prescribing represents a significant opportunity to leverage pharmacists’ expertise, alleviate pressures on GPs, and provide timely care for common conditions. Expansion of the role of pharmacists in the community is an important step forward for our health service.