Free HRT to be available from June after agreement reached with pharmacies
Free Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) will be available in some pharmacies from next month, following months of disagreements between the Government and pharmacies.
Former health minister Stephen Donnelly announced as part of Budget 2026 that free HRT would be made available to women.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medicines alleviate the symptoms of women experiencing menopause.
Mr Donnelly confirmed at the time that the cost of the medicines, which can include patches, tablets and gels, would be covered by the State, but that costs associated with prescriptions and pharmacy dispensing would not be included.
The scheme was supposed to come into effect from January 1, 2025 but issues arose with pharmacies and their unions regarding who would pay the dispensing costs.
Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has now confirmed that an agreement has been reached with the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) over the scheme.
The arrangement will include the Government providing a pharmacy dispensing fee of €5 per HRT item and a €2,000 once-off grant to each participating community pharmacy to support transition arrangements, including ICT system upgrades.
However, not all pharmacies will take part and the HSE will launch a 'pharmacy finder' on its website so that women can find the nearest participating pharmacy to them.
Minister MacNeill said: 'I am delighted that the women of Ireland will be able to receive their HRT medication completely free of charge in participating pharmacies from June 1, 2025.
'With the full support of the IPU for the free HRT scheme, I anticipate that every pharmacy will now sign up, which I warmly welcome.
'Our pharmacists and community pharmacies are pillars of the community. They are the most accessible healthcare profession and are hugely trusted by the public.
'I hugely welcome the contribution pharmacists make to women's health and to our health services. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the sector in the coming weeks and months.'
The IPU welcomed the 'commencement of talks' under a new framework agreement with the Department of Health and HSE.
They stated it included commitments to 'review pharmacy fees, reduce administrative burdens, and support digitalisation'.
Padraig Rice, Social Democrats TD and Chair of the Oireachtas Health Committee, stated that Minister Carroll MacNeill must ensure that people who had to pay for their HRT due to the delay are reimbursed.
He said: 'A firm commitment was given, by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, that free HRT would be rolled out for women from January this year. That commitment was breached.
'Instead, the Health Minister has been unable to get an agreement with the Irish Pharmacy Union over the line until today.
'While I welcome the fact that this deal has belatedly been reached, women who rely on HRT have already spent, on average, hundreds of euro on this vital medication this year.
'If government promises are to mean anything, then this money should be reimbursed to all of those women.'
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