HEALTH MINISTER JENNIFER Carroll MacNeill has said she is trying to find a resolution to the delay in the roll out of free Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

The Irish Pharmacy Union and the Department of Health have been at loggerheads about which is at fault for a delay in implementing a national plan, which was due to begin in January. 

HRT is a medicine-based treatment used to relieve symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.

Responding to questions in the Dáil on the matter, the health minister said she was  aware of the issue stating that the provision was made in the budget last October, but not for the dispensing fee.

“The government set aside money to pay for the products but not the dispensing fee for pharmacists. I have met the pharmaceutical union. I am engaging with it to see if there is something we can do but the reality is we do not have the budget to carry the dispensing fees,” she said.

The health minister said that patients are being charged for the products from €48 to €62, but added that customers do not see the breakdown of the dispensing fee cost. 

“So if a woman is getting two HRT products, for example, she is paying two dispensing fees which might be €7, €8, €9 or €10 per product. We intend to cover the cost of the medication. Were we to extend the budgetary allowance for that I would have to take that from somewhere else and that would mean we could not do something else.

“I am trying to find a resolution. Please allow me a couple of weeks to allow me to do that. I hope the pharmaceutical union will come back with something we can work on,” said the health minister. 

Prior to this, the IPU had stated there were “significant implementation gaps” making it impossible for pharmacies to begin providing the HRT scheme.

Following the minister’s comments, a statement to The Journal from the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) this afternoon said:

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“The IPU is working with the Minister on a proposal that will work for women, the State and pharmacy.”

Wicklow TD for the Social Democrats, Jennifer Whitmore, who raised the question in the Dáil yesterday said she was pleased to hear the minister was looking into this issue and and that she hoped for a quick resolution.

“Women who experience menopause have been left out of pocket because of a failure to implement this scheme properly. Free HRT should never have been promised by the previous Minister if the implementation was not properly thought through.

“This false promise served as a light at the end of the tunnel for so many women, and they, at the very least, deserve clarity on the new timeline. I also believe that Department of Health should reimburse women for the HRT costs they incur while waiting for the eventual introduction of the scheme – this would some way for making up for the problems to date,” she said.