Minister for Health signs legislation that will enable pharmacists to prescribe for certain common conditions for the first time.
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 14 November 2025
- Last updated on: 14 November 2025
Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD, has formally signed new regulations under the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024, which will enable pharmacists to provide treatment for eight specified common conditions. Under this Common Conditions Service (CCS), participating pharmacists will be able to prescribe certain medicines for minor, often self-limiting conditions such as conjunctivitis and impetigo.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) has now launched training which must be completed by pharmacists who wish to deliver the Common Conditions Service in their own pharmacies. As per the recently agreed Community Pharmacy Agreement, all interested pharmacies must sign up to the service by 1 December 2025 and must deliver the service to the public by 31 March 2026, in order to receive a once-off allowance of €2,000.
It is anticipated that the Common Conditions Service will be made available to the public over the next few months as pharmacists begin to participate in the necessary education and training.
Welcoming the availability of training for pharmacists, Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“Pharmacists are highly trained and highly trusted healthcare professionals who play a vital role in our communities and our health service every day.
“Guaranteeing faster access to treatment for common conditions will enable the public to access care in the right place, at the right time, by the right healthcare professional.
“I encourage all pharmacists to avail of this training, which will allow them to apply their expertise to facilitating faster treatment and care to all those in their communities.”
Speaking about the new service to be provided by pharmacists, Joanne Kissane, Registrar and Chief Officer of the PSI, said:
"The Common Conditions Service will expand community pharmacists’ ability to further support patients in the management and treatment of certain common conditions by enabling them to prescribe medicines where this is the most appropriate option.
“This expanded role for pharmacists builds upon their existing knowledge and expertise in medicines and clinical care. It is our role, as the pharmacy regulator, to ensure that pharmacists have the necessary training and other regulatory supports to deliver this new service safely and effectively to the public. Pharmacists who will provide the service are required to undertake additional training that is now available.”
Notes
Expert Taskforce:
In 2023, an Expert Taskforce was established to explore broadening pharmacists' scope of practice.
The report of the Expert Taskforce to Support the Expansion of the Role of Pharmacy (the Taskforce) was published in August 2024, and it recommended the implementation of a Common Conditions Service.
This will enable community pharmacists to manage common conditions by offering self-care advice, safety-netting, and, when appropriate, supplying certain over the counter (OTC) medicine(s) and prescribing prescription-only medicine(s) (POMs) through established protocols. Patients with eligibility under the community drug schemes can have the cost of the prescribed medicines covered.
The specified eight conditions addressed by the Common Conditions Service are:
- Allergic rhinitis
- Cold sores
- Conjunctivitis
- Oral thrush
- Shingles
- Impetigo
- Uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI)/Cystitis
- Vulvovaginal thrush
Community Pharmacy Expansion Implementation Oversight Group (IOG)
The Minister for Health established a Community Pharmacy Expansion Implementation Oversight Group in August 2024 to implement recommendations from the Expert Taskforce. The IOG is made up of representatives from each of the key stakeholders and has worked together over the last year to put the key enablers in place to facilitate community pharmacists to establish common condition services in their own pharmacies. This has included the development and delivery of training for pharmacists, overseeing the development of the necessary secondary legislation, and preparing communications to inform the public of this change.
Education and Training for Pharmacists
A webinar was provided for pharmacists on 6 November which gave an overview of the key enablers that will underpin the new Common Conditions Service. It described the policy context, outlined the legal and regulatory requirements, and set out some considerations for safe service set-up and delivery. It provided an overview of the structure and development process of the Clinical Protocols that will be used in delivery of the service. Attendees also gained insight into training requirements, including how to access the training via the Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIOP).
Training for pharmacists will be mandatory and will consist of a core module on the legal and ethical framework and professional matters, as well as an individual module for each common condition included in the service.