Shortage of hayfever medicines in growing list of unavailable items

There should be alternative medicines in many cases, including for hayfever treatment, said Irish Pharmacy Union president Dermot Twomey. File picture: PA Photo/thinkstockphotos. 

The number of medicines currently out-of-stock in Ireland remains "stubbornly high", with some 241 items now unavailable, including those used to treat hayfever.

According to the latest Medicines Shortage Index, there is a "continued vulnerability in the country's medicine supply", which may have "serious implications for patients who rely on medicines for their health and wellbeing".