THE INTRODUCTION OF free Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) products for women experiencing symptoms of menopause from this month has been delayed, with pharmacists unclear when the scheme will be rolled out. 

As part of Budget 2025, outgoing Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced that €20 million was being made available from January 2025 for the provision of state-funded HRT products.

HRT is free for holders of medical cards but otherwise can cost in the region of €30 to €70 a month.

Under the new scheme, the products would be free of charge, but women who have a prescription from their doctor would still have to pay for their GP visit and dispensing fee to the pharmacist. 

Speaking about the scheme in October, Donnelly said he had two options available. 

“One was that we would cover all costs but if we did that we would not be able to make it available to all women. The full cost of the medicine be covered.

“I listened to a lot of people about this and universally what I heard back was make it available to everyone,” said the minister.

He said pharmacists will no doubt want to charge an administrative or prescription fee, stating that pharmacists get their profit margin from the product that they sell.

“We’re essentially making the product free,” he said.

‘Lack of clarity’

However, the Irish Pharmacy Union (ICU) has said that it has yet to receive details on how the scheme will be implemented from the Department of Health. 

“In recent weeks we have written to the Department of Health four times and held two formal meetings seeking clarity on how the scheme is proposed to operate,” the ICU told The Journal in a statement.

“We have still not received any clarity on this and how to advise patients accordingly.”

The ICU said it has submitted a proposal to address these issues through an Integrated Women’s Health Plan, “which we believe treats all women with equitable access to hormone treatment and does not differentiate based on age”. 

The lack of clarity means that the suggested timeline in the budgetary announcement has not been met.

The IPU said it remains committed to working with the Department of Health and the HSE to find “a workable, implementable scheme to be able to provide this women’s health initiative”.

In a statement to The Journal, the HSE said it is engaging with the Department of Health and the IPU on the “practical implementation” of the scheme.

The health service said: “The goal is to introduce this measure as soon as possible.”

Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney said the delay is “a slap in the face for the thousands of women on HRT who had been expecting to see a reduction in their medical expenses from the start of 2025″.

“The delay has also been met with deep frustration by pharmacists around the country, many of whom had expressed concern at the Department’s lack of preparedness for the roll out of this scheme,” Gibney said.

“Despite the Minister describing State-funded HRT as an important milestone in the ongoing evolution of women’s healthcare in Ireland, it now appears that the previous government overpromised and underdelivered on this issue.”

She called on the Department of Health to “immediately explain” the reasons for the “unacceptable delay” and outline what steps need to be taken to get the scheme up and running.

“Consideration should also be given to reimbursing women for any HRT costs they incur between now and the eventual introduction of the initiative,” she added.