Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 June 2022
410. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if he supports the inclusion of community pharmacists on the critical skills occupations list; if he has engaged with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33341/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland’s employment permits system is managed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It is designed to attract highly skilled workers from outside the EEA to Ireland, to meet skills demand in the economy where those skills can’t be accessed through the resident labour force, in the short to medium term. This objective must be balanced by the need to ensure that there are no suitably qualified Irish/EEA nationals available to undertake the work and that the shortage is a genuine one. The system is vacancy led and managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for an employment permit where it is evidenced that there is more than sufficient availability of those skills in the domestic and EEA labour market.
Pharmacists wishing to practice in Ireland must be registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI – the Pharmacy Regulator). The number of registered pharmacists on the Register of Pharmacists held and maintained by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), the pharmacy regulator has continued to grow steadily, with an average increase of 187 registrants each year over the past five years. 6846 pharmacists are currently registered with the PSI, under established processes based in Irish and EU law.
Although not having a direct role in the recruitment of pharmacist the PSI are aware of reports from stakeholders, of an increasing risk to the continued availability of a pharmacist workforce, with the concern being that the issue may be exacerbated into the future. This has a knock-on impact on pharmacist vacancies, and potentially on continuity and consistency of service. As a result, the PSI is undertaking a project, due to run across 2022-’23, ‘Emerging Risks to the Future Pharmacy Workforce’. In 2022, this project is set to “assess emerging risks to the continued availability of a professional pharmacy workforce within community and hospital pharmacy in Ireland”.
The Deputy will be pleased to hear that I support the inclusion of pharmacists on the critical skills occupations list and that Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD, has recently announced changes made by Statutory Instrument to the employment permits system which includes adding the occupation of Pharmacist to the Critical Skills Occupations List. This means that Pharmacists are now eligible for a Critical Skills Employment Permit.
