Pharmacists to be allowed issue contraception prescriptions
The proposed change would allow pharmacies to prescribe contraception under defined circumstances, removing the need for a woman to visit their GP. Picture: iStock
Plans to allow pharmacists provide prescriptions for contraception are set to be approved by Cabinet.
Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will seek ministerial approval today, Tuesday, to progress legislation to expand pharmacists prescribing permissions.
The laws would allow pharmacies to prescribe contraception under defined circumstances, removing the need for a woman to visit their GP.
The minister is set to highlight that the plan would free up capacity at GP surgeries.
The plan will require amendment of the existing legal framework of the free contraception scheme to enable reimbursement.
Separately, Tánaiste Simon Harris will tell ministers that mortgage arrears have fallen to the lowest level since 2009.
The mortgage arrears review found that fewer than 36,000 accounts were in arrears, down from more than 42,000 at the end of 2024.
The number of households in arrears for more than 90 days fell by 19% to fewer than 22,000.
Read More
This is compared with nearly 27,000 households in 2024.
The number in long-term arrears for more than a year also declined to just over 16,000, down from more than 19,000 at the end of 2024.
Mr Harris is expected to tell Cabinet this is “significant progress” on reducing mortgage arrears.
Meanwhile, public expenditure minister Jack Chambers will update Cabinet on the redevelopment of the GPO on O’Connell St, Dublin, which is expected to cost between €200m and €500m.
Mr Chambers will tell ministers that ownership of the building is due to be transferred from the Department of Culture to the Office of Public Works.
The redevelopment plans will see some retail and office space retained in the building, alongside its use as a post office as well as a cultural centre.
There will be public consultation on the plans, with a steering and oversight group set to be established within the Department of the Taoiseach.
While this process is ongoing, there will be some temporary use of the building, including for community events which will be held in unused parts of the GPO.
Meanwhile, children’s minister Norma Foley is set to update Cabinet on the progress towards the National Centre for Research and Remembrance, which will honour those who spent time in industrial schools, Magdalene laundries, mother and baby and county home institutions and reformatories.
The campus, which is due to be located on Seán McDermott St, will include age and disability-friendly social housing units, as well as further and higher education facilities.
Other memos expected to be discussed at Cabinet include higher education minister James Lawless’s plan to include Ireland in the EU’s AI gigafactories initiative, which aims to improve Europe’s capacity to develop complex AI models.
- Tadgh McNally, Political Reporter
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
