Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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189. To ask the Minister for Health the number of community pharmacies she has written to regarding the provision of free HRT; the uptake she has had on her offer to date, on a county-by-county basis, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24629/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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190. To ask the Minister for Health whether her Department has provided pharmacists with a full list of medications to be covered under the free HRT scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24630/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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191. To ask the Minister for Health whether appropriate IT systems are in place to allow for the free HRT scheme to be rolled out efficiently, and for individual pharmacies to be reimbursed by the State in a timely manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24631/25]

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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192. To ask the Minister for Health if the free HRT scheme will have any impact on recipients of the drug payment scheme, in particular in instances where their selected pharmacy is not signed up to the free HRT scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24632/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 189 to 192, inclusive, together.

Firstly, I want to be absolutely clear on what the intention was with regard to the Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) initiative.

Budget 2025 aimed to continue the excellent ongoing work to improve women’s healthcare and, in particular to support women on their menopause journey.

It was originally intended that the State would pay for the HRT product. Pharmacies would be free to continue to charge a professional service fee to women not eligible for the GMS or the Drug Payment Scheme.

The Programme for Government re-emphasised the scope of this commitment.

I have prioritized substantial engagement with the Irish Pharmacy Union to find a pathway forward on this issue. I listened to their position that they did not want to see the cost of the medicine and the dispensing fee decoupled under a State-funded arrangement.

Therefore, in the spirit of compromise, I offered to invest healthcare funding on dispensing fees which was not intended from a healthcare budget perspective and was not intended as Government policy in this space.

I have offered every participating pharmacy €5 dispensing fee for each and every HRT product and medicine dispensed.

In addition, I have offered a €1,000 transition grant for each. The €5 fee is the highest fee paid under the Community Drugs Scheme.

Further I have also provided that this fee will apply to all HRT products dispensed under the GMS and DPS – a further 15% - 20% increase on existing fees, for no additional work. I have made this offer to every pharmacy, writing to them last month directly.

I spoke at the IPU’s conference last Saturday, met with their leadership, and noted that I want to see the HRT measure implemented in an equitable way for women.

My officials have had ongoing engagement with the IPU since Saturday and we will remain engaged until a positive outcome for the women of Ireland has been achieved.

I ask all pharmacies to sign up to this measure, so that we can progress onto the wider pharmacy contract talks, on a solid foundation and in a spirit of partnership.