Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1748. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the measures that his Department and-or the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland are taking about the chronic shortage of community pharmacists in Ireland; the average number of European Union and third country applicants for each year; and the success rate of applicants in passing the English language competency examination. [40225/22]
View answerI understand that currently there are reports of a current workforce issue, particularly in relation to community pharmacy. The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) has been liaising with stakeholders, including the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), on efforts being taken within the sector to understand and address the issue. In February 2022, PSI met with a number of superintendent pharmacists and the IPU. The PSI also circulated a survey on behalf of the IPU to all registrants to support efforts to understand and address the issue in the short term. The fieldwork on the research was undertaken online by the IPU between 22 March and 8 April 2022. The results of which have just been finalised and recommendations have been prepared by the IPU based on their findings. The report is currently under review by the Department of Health who will continue to liaise with relevant stakeholders on this matter.
In developing its Corporate Strategy 2021-2023, the PSI was aware, through its role as the pharmacy regulator as well as through reports from stakeholders, of an increasing risk to the continued availability of a pharmacist workforce. This highlighted a need to focus on community and hospital pharmacy, with a concern being that the issue might be exacerbated into the future. The PSI are currently undertaking a project, due to run across 2022-’23, titled ‘Emerging Risks to the Future Pharmacy Workforce’. This project is set to “assess emerging risks to the continued availability of a professional pharmacy workforce within community and hospital pharmacy in Ireland”.
This is a complex problem with many contributing factors and multiple stakeholders. Workforce challenges are being experienced in other sectors nationally, and in the community pharmacy sector in a range of other countries. However, robust data for Ireland is needed to be able to determine the current landscape, assess future health system needs and understand existing sectoral challenges now and into the future. It will be on the basis of gathering and analysing this up-to-date, robust and relevant data, that recommendations can be proposed to address Ireland’s needs as our healthcare system evolves, and in the context of Sláintecare implementation.
For any applicant from the EU or a Third Country wishing to register with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI – the Pharmacy Regulator), the first step in the process is to apply to have their qualification recognised as being suitable for registration.
Table 1 at the link, sets out the number of qualification recognition applications received by the PSI from both EU and Third Country applicants since 2020.
Language competence is assessed at point of registration application. With regards to the success rate of applicants in passing the English language competency exam, it must be noted that the PSI does not set a specific exam and therefore are unable to respond on the success rate on the various tests that are available to applicants to complete.
The PSI Council currently accepts the following criteria as being satisfactory to assure language competence:
- (a) a certificate issued by an internationally recognised body or authority, recognised by the PSI Council, attesting that the holder has attained a standard of competence in the English or Irish language sufficient to enable him or her to safely communicate with, and to treat, patients and to generally discharge his or her obligations as a pharmacist in the State or
- (b) Training to become a qualified pharmacist has been carried out in a country that has English or Irish recognised as an official language of that country or
- (c) The applicant has lived, and practised in a whole-time capacity as a registered pharmacist for three out of the preceding five years in country that has English or Irish recognised as an official language
The legislative basis for these language competence standards are derived from the Professional Qualifications Directive as implemented by the European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2017, the Pharmacy Act 2007 (as amended) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Registration) Rules 2008 to 2017.
Generally speaking, on criteria (a) above, applicants only submit an application when they have successfully met the minimum accepted scores for the recognised test that they have taken (details of recognised tests and minimum scores outlined here).
The PSI regularly reviews its language competency minimum standards and has recently (June 2022) completed another benchmarking exercise with reference to other healthcare regulators both in Ireland and abroad.
