David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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335. To ask the Minister for Health further to the report of the expert taskforce to support the expansion of the role of pharmacy, the cost of a common conditions scheme; if her policy on this scheme has changed from her predecessor; if her Department has completed the work referred to in response to Parliamentary Question No. 366 of 10 July 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35074/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As was noted in Parliamentary Question

(www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2024-07-10/366/?highlight%5B0%5D=30376&highlight%5B1%5D=24), following the completion of the work of the Taskforce, the focus turned to implementation of Taskforce recommendations.

The priority focus is the development and introduction of a Common Conditions Service in community pharmacy. This service will be the first step in enabling full independent pharmacist prescribing. It will allow pharmacists in Ireland to treat the patients for common conditions such as shingles, urinary tract infections, and conjunctivitis. It will also support the development of new revenue streams for pharmacies.

The development of the Common Conditions Service is well under way, led by the Community Pharmacy Expansion Implementation Oversight Group. This group meets monthly with the aim to develop the necessary enablers for required to establish the Common Conditions Service. These include clinical protocols, education and training for pharmacists and a package of required regulations.

I want to have all the enablers for this service in place within 2025, so that pharmacists are enabled to offer the Common Conditions Service to their patients. It will provide community pharmacies with new business and revenue generating opportunities to contribute towards sustainable business models. In the context of a sustainable reform and expansion of pharmacy services, such as common conditions services, this will provide and enable community pharmacies to seize opportunities to diversify their health service offerings, business models and revenue streams.