Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Dún Laoghaire · Fine Gael · Ireland
“It will be provided by a registered pharmacist in accordance with the relevant pharmacy legislation, including this Bill. Section 2 of the Bill makes various amendments to the Irish Medicines Board Act and the Pharmacy Act. Those amendments ensure that whole legislative framework is cross-referenced correctly.”
“We now have a common conditions service where you can go to a pharmacy instead of a GP to get a diagnosis and prescription for eight basic conditions like conjunctivitis or urinary tract infections - the kind of things that just come up in people's lives all the time. We would like to expand more and more what pharmacies can do.”
“In particular, the board will be focusing on aspects of menstrual health, on aspects of postpartum mental health, particularly in traumatic birth cases, on something we have overlooked for some time, which is endometriosis, on women who are finding it difficult to access services in different ways, as Senator Harmon suggested, and on more…”
“The extension to 41- to 45-year-olds could possibly be €5 million to €8 million because there are statistically fewer women in that bracket trying to conceive, so the numbers are higher. It really is a question of funding. I remind Senators that they have also asked me to fund various other programmes.”
“That followed confirmation from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and the Health Products Regulatory Authority that the patch and ring are classified as medicinal products, not medical devices. That is just a correction there.”
“That is why we have put so much money into supporting them in different ways, including the conclusion of a €50 million increase to their fees and to provide for the opportunity to raise private funds in this way, for example, the common conditions service. I want to see pharmacists doing more.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,593 lines we hold for Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 32.
“There are very real pressures in our system, such as increased demand and growing complexity, demographic changes, technology advances and financial challenges, but having a sustainable workforce is critical for the future of health in Ireland, and that is what we are working towards. Despite the recruitment success I have outlined in 2025 and in the first part of 2026 - I hope there is more to come, and we have an awful lot more to do on that - nurses continue to experience staffing gaps in acute and community settings and there is too much reliance on agency staff in certain areas. International as well as national evidence has shown the direct correlation between nursing staffing levels and better patient outcomes, improved safety and reduced adverse events.”
“We will continue to need international professionals; however, given the global shortages of health care workers, a more sustainable health and social care workforce is the focus. Nursing has a significant and unsustainable reliance on international recruitment. Significant Government investment is being provided to expand healthcare education capacity here. A €28.5 million investment over the next three years aims to deliver 1,100 additional healthcare training places, each year, across medicine, nursing, therapy professions, pharmacy and dentistry. The years 2020 to 2025 saw first-year nursing places in Irish higher education institutions grow by 23%.”
“In addition to our Irish-trained nurses - who, the NMBI has told me, are staying more in Ireland than has previously been the case - we benefit greatly from the contribution of a diverse international nursing workforce. It is important to place on record that our recruitment approach is firmly grounded in ethical recruitment. Ireland has signed up to and is aligned with the WHO global code of practice on the international recruitment of health personnel. When I was at the World Health Assembly last year, we sat at the front of the table, alongside the representatives from the Philippines, in terms of leading the conversation about ethical international recruitment.”
“Nevertheless, I am very pleased that Ireland is so highly position among European countries in having so many practising nurses per thousand of population. There are almost 93,000 nurses and midwives registered with the NMBI. That represents a 3% increase on last year and is the highest number of registrants ever recorded. Overall in 2025, there was an increase of 883 nurses. This is a hugely significant addition in a single calendar year, but it has been bettered this calendar year so far. Already in quarter 1 of 2026 we have an additional 843 nurses. That is a real commitment to recruiting nurses into permanent positions and it is very clear that nurses want to work in Ireland.”
“I want to acknowledge how nurses and midwives work in an integrated way to provide person-centred care, combining their expertise in a seamless way to support individuals and families across the full continuum of healthcare. The report The State of the World's Nursing, published in 2025 by the WHO and the International Council of Nurses, highlights that the global nursing shortages remain a critical challenge. Nursing is the largest professional group within our health system. In Ireland we are in the enviable position of having 14.3 practising nurses per 1,000 population. This is more than nearly all other European countries. I believe that only Finland and Norway have higher numbers but that also reflects the very different geographical spread of their populations.”
“Nurses are trained at undergraduate level in general, mental health, intellectual disability and children’s nursing, enabling that system-wide contribution from the outset. This strong focus on education is clearly reflected in the recent review of undergraduate nursing education. This not only sets out the commitment to modernising practice, but the education reforms that reflect the future health care environment graduates will be working in. It has considered digitally enabled care, universal healthcare and integrated services. From 2027 onwards, students will spend substantially more time training in community settings, supporting early career pathways in community care and acting as a key enabler of Sláintecare delivery.”
“I mention this in order that Deputies will have a full sense of the integration of nursing into the Department of Health and the importance we place on that within the Department, leading on nursing policy solutions for the whole healthcare system. That has delivered not only a well-developed national nursing workforce, but also one that is highly regarded internationally. Significant investment in nursing has enabled a more sustainable, highly skilled and motivated workforce in line with Government commitments. That is very much in partnership with nursing representative organisations and every single nurse working in the Irish State. Nursing in Ireland is a progressive, well regulated and forward-looking profession.”
“I would like to make people aware of the integration of the nursing team into the Department. It is a mixed team of professionals and civil servants. Our chief nursing officer is Rachel Kenna. Her deputies are Karen Greene, who was the director of nursing in Beaumont Hospital, Kelly Mofflin, who was previously director of nursing and mental health nursing, and Gráinne Sheehan, who was previously a nurse specialist in cancer care. They are supported by nursing project officers Úna Rogers from midwifery, Claire Townsend and Tara Mulleary, who are public health nurses, and Helen Carlin, who works in the area of renal nursing. They are supported by a team of civil servants.”
“They provide highly skilled care, lead with strong clinical judgment and deliver care with compassion that ensures patients, families and service users remain at the centre of the work they do. I would like to take this opportunity to formally acknowledge and extend my thanks to nurses in every service right across the country. I have seen first hand their leadership, professionalism, skill and commitment to the health and well-being of patients and all of our service users. It is important to acknowledge the significant progress that has been made in Irish nursing over recent years. My Department is the great beneficiary of the work of the chief nursing officer and her team in the Department, who are leading on nursing policy solutions for the health service.”
“I am aware of the recent INMO survey that indicates a high level of burn-out, stress and increasing violence and aggression in the workplace. While these issues are not specific to Ireland or to nursing here, nurses and midwives, as the largest workforce, are disproportionately affected. This poses a greater risk to staff well-being, workforce retention, and the delivery of safe patient care. Nursing is the largest professional group within our health system. Simply put, the breadth and depth of healthcare, working across every care setting. At every stage of life, and at moments of greatest vulnerability, nurses are often the first point of contact and most enduring point of contact for patients.”
“The them for this year's International Nurses Day, "Our Nurses, Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives", is a powerful and timely message. It is also reflected in this Government’s clear objectives to deliver structural reform that supports a sustainable supply of nurses to meet population health demands and support improved working conditions. The Government is committed to supporting innovation, a range of career opportunities and strong professional governance and leadership. Nurses have demonstrated that they can and want to work to the very top of their training, and we need that. This is essential for patient safety and a sustainable health system into the future. I want to reflect honestly on the challenges nurses face as we try to get to that.”
“I am sharing time with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. Today, which is International Nurses Day, I would like to recognise the presence in the Public Gallery of Caroline Gourley, president, and Phil Ní Sheaghdha, general secretary, from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO. Ms Ní Sheaghdha has been president of Irish Congress of Trade Unions since last July. I congratulate here on that. I understand that we also have in attendance the CEO of the Nurses and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, Caroline Donoghue, and that organisation's president, Áine Lynch. They are very welcome here to join myself and other Members in marking International Nurses Day. This is an occasion recognised around the world to honour the professionalism, commitment and vital contribution of nurses to our health services and to society as a whole.”
“There is ongoing work that I am not in a position to discuss today because some of it has to go back to Cabinet. I cannot breach Cabinet confidentiality but I acknowledge that the work is continuing with the Dignity4Patients group and its representatives in the same collaborative way that has brought us to this point.”
“I do not think anybody would disagree with me on that point. I thank the groups for their ongoing collaboration. I apologise to Members and to anybody watching as I cannot stay. A Cabinet meeting began at 4.30 p.m. It is now 4.40 p.m., and I have to attend. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is here with me and I assure Members that I will be reading back the contributions made by all of them. We have spoken about this in part in the past in this House and I have spoken with many of Members individually, but I wish to apologise to anybody who is watching that it is not possible for me to stay due to the Cabinet meeting. I thank the House for facilitating statements at this time. It is something we will continue to discuss.”
“We are more than halfway through a facilitative process. I believe, and hope the House agrees with me, that this has been a process based on genuine collaboration and a real effort to try to find a mechanism to answer the questions that can possibly be answered. I hope through this process that we will find some measure of a voice for those issues that a resolution can be found for, though I always worry that no matter what way we structure it or no matter what we do we will disappoint, or that some people will not find the justice they hope to seek throughout any process. However, we are here to try to facilitate this. We are here to try to give this voice, respect and dignity that has not been provided to date, certainly not in the original experience within the hospital or in the process since then.”
“Our commitment is to ensure a process that recognises the suffering experienced, honours the voices of victims and survivors, and seeks a path towards truth and healing. I again acknowledge the courage of victims and survivors, whose experiences have brought us to this point. Their voices must remain central as this work continues. This scoping exercise and the subsequent next steps will proceed with independence, compassion and a trauma-informed approach. I really wish to pay tribute to the hundreds of men across counties Meath and Louth who have been impacted and who will be impacted yet again as we discuss this. I acknowledge their work and their dignity and I acknowledge the people who have provided a broad support network to them and the advocates who have brought us to this point.”
“In order for that stakeholder engagement to begin, a lawful basis to process personal data for these exercises was required in alignment with Article 6(1)(e), Article 9(2)(i) and Article 10 of the general data protection regulation, GDPR. In accordance with these articles, the making of regulations under the Data Protection Act 2018 was necessary to give domestic legal effect to this basis, to ensure legal certainty, foreseeability and to place appropriate safeguards on a statutory footing. No processing could commence until the necessary statutory framework was in place. On 24 March, the Houses approved the data protection regulations for this scoping exercise and I signed them on 9 April.”
“Staines will receive all necessary supports to ensure a victim-centred, trauma-informed, human-rights based approach underpins the scoping exercise and any subsequent statutory processes. I have asked that the well-being of victims and survivors remain central throughout this process. The final report and recommendations will be submitted to Government to guide the development of an appropriate and bespoke response to the issues raised and to the needs identified by Dignity4Patients. I emphasise the paramount importance of the lived experiences of those affected by Mr. Staines’s work. It is vitally important that he get the opportunity to engage with victims and survivors, for them to have their voices heard at this stage, and to create a process that enables their voice be heard in the future.”
“He has been finalising the terms of reference for the scoping exercise in direct consultation with Dignity4Patients and with the Department for Health on the other side. Mr. Staines has two decades of experience of criminal, regulatory and administrative law and he is widely recognised for his specialist work with victims and vulnerable witnesses. It is also important to say that during the process, Dignity4Patients will have the support of expert advisers, including Maeve Lewis, former CEO of One in Four, and Professor Phil Scraton, a specialist in inquests and inquiry models, as well as their solicitor, Diarmuid Brecknell of Phoenix Law. Government has emphasised the need for the process to be survivor-centred and Mr.”
“I am glad we have had this very structured engagement with Dignity4Patients and with victims and advocates to ensure their experiences, expectations and their needs are fully reflected and to try to work out what the outstanding issues are to which we can provide further answers, what information is held by the State in that regard, how we approach this in the most contained but impactful way, and how, within that, we give the appropriate voice for survivors. I announced the appointment of Mr. Lorcan Staines SC as the independent facilitator to conduct this scoping exercise following engagement with the Attorney General. Mr. Staines commenced his work on 3 March and this scoping exercise will run for up to 16 weeks.”
“For decades, victims and survivors of Michael-Shine have carried trauma and have sought recognition and accountability. Their strength and willingness to continue pressing for the truth will, I hope, be met with more compassion, seriousness and action. There is a substantial body of work involved, including examination of all previous reports, relevant court findings, hospital and institutional actions and the historical context of the abuse.”
“I met with the group again on Monday, 24 November and I remain committed to the group and to identifying an appropriate and bespoke response to the issues raised and the needs identified by it. It is very important to say that we have - or I certainly hope we have - been working in great partnership with Dignity4Patients, a group for which I have enormous respect and regard, both as to the way in which it represents the advocates, survivors and victims but also the complete professionalism with which it approaches its work. On 26 November, the Government agreed that a time-bound scoping exercise be undertaken by an independent person in response to requests from Dignity4Patients on behalf of victims and survivors of Michael Shine.”
“It is an organisation that has long sought an inquiry into the sexual abuse of patients and in the past year has sought that in a more formal way. In April, I met with representatives of Dignity4Patients and as part of that engagement programme, I asked them to share with me their areas of concern and those areas they felt could best be addressed by further inquiries. In their response, they detailed their call for a statutory investigation, highlighted specific issues they felt were as yet unaddressed by other mechanisms, and sought an opportunity to have a space for the voice of victims and survivors. At that time, I committed to engaging with my Government colleagues on how to best provide answers to the issues raised by Dignity4Patients on behalf of the victims.”
“In October 2009, on foot of requests from Dignity4Patients, the then Minister for Health and Children announced the establishment of an independent non-statutory review, the Drogheda review. The purpose of the review was to advise on whether a further investigation into the procedures and practices at the hospital during that period would be of significant public benefit in helping to improve best-practice guidelines and policies. That review was carried out by retired High Court judge, Mr. Justice T.C. Smyth, who submitted his report to the then Minister in September 2010. The report recommended that a further investigation should not be held and that, in order to avoid prejudicing current or future civil or criminal cases, the report should not be published. Dignity4Patients has been campaigning on behalf of the victims for many years.”
“The review was established by the board of the hospital and its terms of reference included “to examine and report to the Hospital Management Board on the Hospital’s response to the complaints of sexual abuse made against a consultant, formerly employed by the Hospital”. Dr. Hederman O’Brien’s report set out the chronology of events at the hospital, and recommendations on the prevention of sexual abuse and on procedures for handling complaints. Following the recommendations, the health service made substantial enhancements to its procedures for preventing and addressing claims of sexual abuse, and those included establishing clear practices and protocols to handle such concerns in such instances of horrendous abuse.”
“Those individuals who are not necessarily involved in that campaign and who have suffered in silence have also demonstrated great bravery in continuing their lives in remarkable ways, notwithstanding what has happened to them. Michael Shine, a former surgeon, worked in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda from 1964 until 1995. In March 1995, the CEO of the hospital was made aware of a complaint of abuse against him by the North Eastern Health Board. Michael Shine took leave while the complaint was addressed and subsequently retired in October 1995. By the time of his retirement, he was already the subject of multiple allegations of sexual abuse going back as far as the 1970s. In 1995, the matters in the hospital were the subject of an independent review chaired by Dr. Miriam Hederman O’Brien, which was reported in 1996.”
“I welcome the opportunity to address the House on statements on Michael Shine, and much more importantly, his victims and survivors. The abuse of trust and attack on the dignity and the person of patients by Michael Shine was a terrible betrayal. I have the deepest sympathy and concern for all the victims. I acknowledge the many people affected, including several I have been fortunate enough to meet. Reports suggest that the total number of those impacted is in the high hundreds and it ranges across a huge age span. These individuals have demonstrated remarkable bravery as they continue their pursuit of justice for the serious wrongdoing they experienced.”
“The Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, as the competent authority, previously provided my Department with a policy paper setting out the different options. In addition, we have commissioned research through the Health Research Board to look at the national policy and legislative and regulatory measures used in other countries. We expect that report in the coming period. We will engage with stakeholders to try to bring this piece of work forward. The final regulatory policy determined will be informed but all of those important pieces of evidence. We will progress it as quickly as we can thereafter. I recognise what the Deputy is saying.”
“In the short time that I have, I will say that dermal fillers are regulated as medical devices. There are rules to ensure that devices placed on the market are safe and perform as intended. That means a dermal filler must have a CE mark before it can be legally sold anywhere in the EU. It is important to be clear about what current EU legislation does not do. While it regulates the product, it does not regulate who can administer it. The Government recognises there is a need to strengthen regulation in this area. That is why it is in the programme for Government that we will only allow this to be undertaken by trained healthcare professionals. Work is under way in my Department on the options to strengthen controls on the use of dermal fillers.”
“We have possibly examined this in a way that has been too individualised as regards the different hospitals. I am interested in the best interoperability and how we achieve that while, at the same time, implementing the compliance requirements identified in the HIQA report.”
“Of course the HIQA report needs to be implemented. Where there are issues within the control of the hospital, the HSE is required to deliver sustained improvement. Where risks relate to the broader intersection of the region, that is what I am trying to work out at the moment. On 17 February, I met the regional executive officer and regional clinical director for the HSE Dublin and North East region and the integrated area healthcare manager for Louth and Meath to discuss the overall demand profile for the region, the pressures in Navan, the pressures on neighbouring hospitals, the different specialisms and their interoperabilities, and the ideal design of all of those hospitals, recognising the elective hospital, surgical theatre and capacity that that frees up.”
“For example, patients are stabilised and, if necessary, transferred to other hospitals. Patients classified as categories 1 and 2, including cardiac and stroke patients, are not brought to Navan hospital by ambulance. Beaumont and the Mater, which are specialist centres for both of those cohorts, are very close. That is what I mean by looking at the region in a different way.”
“On the HIQA report, of the 43 actions in the compliance plan, I understand 18 have been completed and the rest are under way. It is important to highlight that. I want to look at the region in a very interesting way because it is a region that will have a new surgical hub opening shortly. It is a region where we are planning an elective hospital, in Connolly. It is a region where the hospitals are geographically concentrated. I am not yet convinced what all of the different pathways are and what the different specialisms are and how they intersect. It is a region of particular opportunity and Navan has a strong role to play within that. On the immediate safety issues, ambulance bypass protocols are in place to ensure that patients receive the right care.”
“The new Navan patient quality and safety board was established last year to provide enhanced oversight of the safe and effective transition of care between Navan hospital and the HSE Dublin and North East region generally, as is the case for many hospitals. That led to the development of different and robust policies and procedures which will be further improved this year. Several risk mitigation strategies have also been implemented, including the utilisation of the orthopaedic unit during periods of high activity and the implementation of surge capacity. In addition, acute surgical services are maintained to allow for patient stabilisation prior to transfer, as is the case in many other hospitals, along with integrated bed management solutions which link community and acute bed services.”
“As part of its statutory role, HIQA conducted unannounced inspections of Our Lady's Hospital in Navan in June 2024 and November 2025. It is important to note that, at the follow-up inspection, HIQA recognised that the hospital had made progress since 2024, even where the formal compliance ratings did not change. It is important that I state that. I would also like to outline the suite of service and safety enhancements being implemented in Navan hospital. I am informed by the HSE that additional staffing across primary care and older person services has enhanced the management of chronic conditions. Consultant-led chronic disease teams for respiratory and cardiology services will be developed in 2026.”
“I thank the Deputy. I reaffirm that the Government is committed to investing in Navan hospital. Since 2020, the number of whole-time equivalent staff has increased by 17.5%. During the same period, the budget increased by 51%. Under the acute hospital bed expansion plan, a total of 46 new and replacement beds will be delivered at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan by 2031, which includes 31 beds delivered between 2021 and 2024 and another 15 beds between 2025 and 2028. A new minor injuries unit is planned for Navan hospital. I am advised by the HSE that this is progressing through the detailed design and procurement phases. Construction is expected to commence in quarter 4 of 2026, with an indicative operational date of 2027, which is good for the area.”
“We have engaged with the dental association, the Irish Dental Hygienists' Association and the Dental Council to look at how we are going to deliver near-term improvements in the school programme in particular, how we can use the complete workforce, including hygienists and dental nurses, and how we can broaden the ways in which they are trained. We are engaging with the Department of further and higher education on that so that we can get the best out of our complete dental workforce.”
“I will point out that the fees were increased by an order of 40% in that scheme. While I appreciate what the Deputy is saying, the fees were also increased by 40% and there is more complexity. I attended the dental association's conference. There is more complexity to the full range of practice that many dentists are engaged in and the other routes of practice, including aesthetics. I do not just mean aesthetic dentistry, which is important and was well defended at the dental association conference by its president. I just needed to make that point as well. The Deputy highlighted schoolchildren, who are a particular concern of mine.”
“This is not about planning for something in perpetuity. Rather, this is in recognition of very meaningful problems for a number of individuals who need a very specified intervention.”
“We are committed to updating the Dentists Act 1985, but we have spoken separately about the practicalities of some of those individual cases, some of which relate to legislative reform and some of which relate to completely different things. The Deputy is correct in relation to the need for a new dentists Act, but there is also a lot of policy development needed to underpin that. A recognition of the length of time that it would take in real terms has led to an agreement with the Dental Council to bring forward interim amendments such as continuous professional development, CPD, for dentists so that reforms can commence sooner. However, we need to make measurable and meaningful progress. I would like to have the opportunity to finalise that two-year plan, to present it and to have an implementation plan for it.”
“My Department and HSE officials have already initiated engagements on this with many of the stakeholders, but it is important that they brief the committee as well when the plan is better finalised.”
“It will focus on a small number of very clear priorities: cut waiting lists in the school dental programme and orthodontics, strengthen and expand the special access programme, review and improve the dental treatment services scheme, support recruitment, education and training, and then really lean into whatever innovations are appropriate for different ways to deliver care. Over the next two years, our aim is to stabilise services, reduce waiting times and make access measurably better while at the same time laying the groundwork for longer term reform. This will be achieved by initiatives such as utilising the newly available capacity with the new surgical hubs. A small proportion of cases, but not all, will be suitable because some will require general anaesthetic.”
“What that means is improving access through the public system, especially for children and adult medical card holders. My Department and the HSE are finalising a more focused two-year programme to attempt to do just that. The plan is going to be delivered by a dedicated governance group with progress monitored closely and aligned to wider HSE and departmental priorities. It will aim to respond to sustained service pressures, workforce constraints and long waiting lists.”
“I thank the Deputy and the Committee on Health for their work on oral health and I welcome their report. I have read it and it aligns with many of the frustrations being brought to me. I understand the frustrations of families and individuals who are experiencing this with the current service. To be really clear, the current position on dental services is not good enough. Too many people cannot get timely care and too many of those are children. We have to do two things at the same time. We have to take practical steps to improve access now and we also have to deliver lasting reform. The model of services we operate is largely rooted in the 1990s and it really needs to be modernised to meet today's needs. While that reform is being progressed, however, I am determined to ease the pressure people are facing now.”
“I want it to be a really natural place to get a prescription and to expand the use of community pharmacies alongside every other part of our health infrastructure. I hope the Deputy will forgive me for not having a better answer than that for him at the moment but I will get him an appropriate answer.”
“As the Deputy highlights, this is done through consultation and agreement between the pharmacy union and the HSE. My own Department engages regularly with the pharmacy union. I will ask my officials and the HSE about the nature of that engagement because I am not party to those detailed discussions. I will get a much better answer and provide it to the Deputy. The important point is that there is a measure of consultation and agreement in relation to it. Pharmacists are very excited about this expanded role and about working to the top of their professional medical training. That is what I want to enable. I want to make them a genuine alternative to a GP, where appropriate, as they will be in many, although not all, cases.”
“Community pharmacists will be able to manage eight common conditions, offering self-care advice and, where appropriate, prescribing prescription-only medications. That is a first for pharmacy in Ireland. I would very much like to see it succeed. I hope people will use it and that we can extend beyond these eight conditions to the next eight, whatever they might be.”
“I am sorry but I do not have that figure. I will get it and come back to the Deputy, if he will forgive me. As part of the community pharmacy agreement, the Irish Pharmacy Union has agreed to support the HSE health and well-being campaigns. The Deputy has highlighted three of them. Following a consultation between the pharmacy union and the HSE, three campaigns were agreed for activation across the community pharmacy network. The Deputy has outlined them. Of course, I would like them to be doing even more, recognising how important their role is. One of the biggest changes in health is going to be the common conditions service and where we can go with it. As the Deputy is aware, 95% of pharmacists have signed up to it at this point.”
“I am delighted to say that, from May, pharmacies will provide pneumococcal vaccination for eligible healthy adults over 65 who have a medical card. Pharmacies deliver services like health checks, blood pressure management, weight management, and smoking and vaping cessation programmes and help people to live with long-term conditions. All of this demonstrates the ability and willingness of community pharmacies to be an essential part of health infrastructure. A big part of the future is the 2025 community pharmacy agreement, which seeks to expand that role. This gives us the opportunity to expand the role of pharmacists in areas such as bowel screening, contraception, prescribing and medicines optimisation. Pharmacies also have an important role in improving access to contraception through the national condom distribution services.”
“I completely agree with the Deputy. They are a phenomenal asset and support and a major part of our health infrastructure. We need to think about them more as a fundamental part of our health infrastructure. Community pharmacies are right where people live. Some 85% of the population is within 5 km of a pharmacy. They are embedded in their communities. They are the first, and often easiest, place to go for trusted advice and practical support for patients. Of course, pharmacists are medicines experts, but their role goes way beyond that now and we would like it to go further. They deliver prevention and public health every day. This extends to flu vaccines, Covid vaccines and school-based programmes. Of the 26% of children who got vaccinated last winter, 56% got their flu vaccine from a pharmacist, which is remarkable.”