THE FREE HORMONE Replacement Therapy (HRT) arrangement has today been launched by the Minister for Health. 

The arrangement will see women in Ireland receive free HRT medicines and products free of charge at the point of dispensing from today. 

HRT used to relieve symptoms of menopause, perimenopause and postmenopause will be made available under the arrangement, with a pharmacy dispensing fee of €5 per item.

Pharmacies that sign up to the scheme will be supplied with a €2,000 once-off grant for transition arrangements such as upgrading their ICT systems.

The Irish Pharmacy Union had previously argued that a €5 dispensing fee was too low and called for it to be raised to at least €6.50, and pharmacists said they wouldn’t join the scheme because they couldn’t afford to at the proposed dispensing fee.

However, after talks between the union and the Department of Health, both sides confirmed last month that the union has endorsed a revised version of the scheme.

Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she welcomed both the beginning of the scheme and the HSE’s Pharmacy Finder – a tool that will allow people to see which pharmacies are participating in the arrangement.

“From today, every woman in Ireland has free access to both essential HRT products and the dispensing fees, removing financial barriers and providing vital support during all stages of menopause,” the Minister said in a statement accompanying the announcement of today’s commencement of the scheme. 

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“I thank the Irish Pharmacy Union for their partnership in this initiative and those pharmacies right across Ireland that have signed up. I encourage women to log on to the HSE’s pharmacy finder to locate their nearest participating pharmacy.”

You can find more information on the scheme here.