Cork councillor seeks update on rollout of free HRT proposal

An update on the proposal to offer free Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to women and a timeline for its rollout has been sought during this week’s meeting of Cork County Council.

Fianna Fáil councillor Audrey Buckley said that she had been satisfied when the previous health minister, Stephen Donnelly, had legislated for the provision of free HRT which was to have been rolled out in January of this year as she had proposed a motion seeking the free provision of the treatment in Cork County Council in 2023.

It has emerged, however, that the scheme is not yet being implemented in Irish pharmacies.

“When is that going to happen? The population of Ireland is 51% women, and every single one of us will at some point go through peri-menopause and menopause. It’s a very normal part of the aging process,” she said.

She acknowledged that an issue had arisen around the dispensing fees payable to pharmacies for providing HRT.

“Across three different pharmacies for the same prescription, one was charging €23.59 for the prescription, another was charging €33.25 and a third was charging €44.12,” she said, adding that a person could be on it for a few years.

“The difference is there could be a saving of up to €240 per year.

“I’d like to see this across the line.”

Concern

Her party colleague, councillor Gillian Coughlan, said that €20m had been allocated to the scheme back in November but that the issue regarding the dispensing fee was a concern.

“Are you going to pay for your own particular healthcare or does that money have to go somewhere else? Particularly with the rising cost of living with the cost of raising a family,” she said.

“I think it’s imperative that the Government need to look at this — certainly pharmacies need to reduce their dispensing fees and make it more accessible for the Government to proceed with this.”

Social Democrats councillor Isobel Towse said that it was necessary to pursue this issue until it was “signed, sealed and delivered”.

“It’s not about just dishing out free meds though, this will be hugely beneficial,” she said. 

“What we need is a free menopause scheme for women, similar to the contraception scheme, and Maternity and Infant Care Scheme; whereby women can attend their GP for free, and essentially be given a longer appointment in order to properly and holistically discuss the complex and diverse symptoms of menopause that women may experience and the many different treatments available.”