Health (Provision of Contraception Prescribing Service in Retail Pharmacy Businesses) Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-15
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Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (FG), Dún Laoghaire

I have better clarity on that now. This Bill is the culmination of a couple of years of work begun by my predecessor on the provision of contraception through pharmacies. That work commenced with consideration of the matter by the expert clinical committee on contraception, which was convened by the HSE. The crucial thing about the recommendations is that we are so pleased to be able to extend the follow-up service to pharmacies but we are not in a position to remove it from the clinical judgment of the GP in the first instance. That initial prescription has to come from a GP because there are so many contraindications for contraception for so many different types of women. I am aware that in some other countries, some contraceptives are given out over the counter, such as a progesterone-only pill. Combined hormonal contraception is recognised as being much more effective than that but it carries additional risk, for example for women with a personal or strong family history of certain conditions like blood clotting, cardiovascular disease and cancer, those who have significantly high blood pressure, those who smoke, or those who are aged over 35. There is a link with a higher risk of adverse effects. There are other contraindications too.
The clinical advice in the draft protocols, which was constructed with advice from our expert clinicians and pharmacy regulators, is looking to see that measurements such as blood pressure and other risk factors are evaluated in person and in the privacy of a consulting room. That is obviously initially with the GP but the follow-up is with the pharmacist. The more structured approach that we are trying to give is about making sure that those protections are in place, that there is the clinical judgment of the GP in the first instance, followed up by the pharmacist, and also that it is not a simple over-the-counter service and there is a consultation or appointment for it.
I do not think this is the case, but the Deputy can imagine a situation where a person is asking for something over the counter and there is a stigma. I am not sure that is the case at all because people have the ability to ask for things in private in pharmacies generally. Having the consultation room set-up, which I know the Deputy is not suggesting we do not have, is important. It is important that we have constructed a scheme which is more dedicated to that privacy and confidentiality structure.
We are not in a position to accept the amendment, again based on the substantial clinical advice which has gone into this from the HSE and the pharmacy regulator. I am and we are trying to expand so much of what our pharmacies can do. The Deputy has great belief in pharmacists and their technical expertise. Obviously, we have established the common condition service. We are now giving them this power too and we would very much like to extend that. When it comes to contraception, that first prescription-based structure followed by a structure that monitors how women are over time, recognising that their health may change in a five-year period, is a clinical structure that is important to maintain.

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Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-15