Vol. 497 No. 2
239 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children if it is the policy of his Department to require that homeopathic, complementary and herbal remedies be available only on prescription; and the role of the Irish Medicines Board in this matter. [24548/98]
There is no unilateral policy in my Department requiring that homeopathic, complementary and herbal medicines be available only on prescription.
The classification or prescription status of any medicine is governed by the Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) Regulations, 1996, and the status assigned to a medicine by virtue of its product authorisation as granted by the Irish Medicines Board under the Medicinal Products (Licensing and Sale) Regulations, 1998.
The role of the Irish Medicines Board in this matter is that the board is the licensing authority for medicinal products and, as such, will assign the appropriate classification to a medicinal product when granting an authorisation in accordance with the aforementioned regulations. In addition, the board is consulted for its advice in relation to the general classification of medicines as set out in the Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) Regulations, 1996.
