Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Thank you for your important query on the current shortage of Solpadeine Soluble Tablets.

Chefaro Ireland DAC, the company responsible for supplying Solpadeine Soluble Tablets, has notified our medicines regulator, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), of shortages of Solpadeine Soluble Tablets Paracetamol 500mg Codeine Phosphate Hemihydrate 8mg Caffeine 30mg:

• In pack size 12 tablets, on 29/12/2023, with an expected return date of 31/03/2025, and
• In pack size 60 tablets, on 10/04/2024, with an expected return date of 31/03/2025.

These shortages are due to a manufacturing delay which is affecting multiple countries, including Ireland.

The HPRA maintains a list of current and resolved shortages on its . The webpage is updated daily as the HPRA receives new information.

My Department is aware of the stress that shortages of medicines can cause for patients and healthcare professionals alike, thusly mitigating medicine shortages and strengthening security of supply is the subject of several workstreams in my Department, the wider health service and across Europe.

Ireland has a multi-stakeholder Medicines Shortages Framework in place, operated by the HPRA on behalf of the Department of Health. The framework aims to help prevent potential shortages from occurring and to reduce the impact of shortages on patients by coordinating the management of potential or actual shortages as they arise. Stakeholders in this framework include the HPRA, the Department, the HSE, healthcare professionals, manufacturers, wholesalers, patient representative groups and marketing authorisation holders.