Colm Burke
Question:831. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health whether she plans to meet the social media companies whose platforms are being used to sell counterfeit obesity medicines which endanger public health. [33441/26]
View answerWednesday, 6 May 2026
Questions (831)
Written answers
The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is the agency with responsibility for the regulation of medicines in Ireland and have an enforcement role with regard to illegal medicines.
The Department of Health supports the HPRA in the exercise of its statutory functions and continues to work closely with them to ensure regulatory oversight and to promote public awareness of the serious risks associated with sourcing prescription medicines from unauthorised suppliers.
This work includes a focus on weight-loss medication also known as Glucagon-like- peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, a type of prescription medicine authorised for the of diabetes or for weight management under certain conditions, or both. The HPRA works in close co-operation with colleagues from An Garda Síochána and Revenue’s Customs Service.
There continues to be significant inter-agency collaboration to combat the illegal supply of health products into and within Ireland. The HPRA also co-operates and shares intelligence with other regulatory and law enforcement agencies across Europe and worldwide to prevent the illegal manufacture, importation and distribution of medicines, medical devices, and cosmetics.
As part of its enforcement remit, the HPRA continues to monitor and disrupt online activity promoting unauthorised medicines, with 4,762 web pages, e-commerce listings and/or social media pages amended or shut down in 2025. This figure includes web pages linked to falsified weight loss products and the HPRA engages with website providers and social media companies in relation to the illegal online supply of weight-loss medication in Ireland.
The HPRA plays an active role in protecting public health by raising awareness of the risks associated with buying prescription medicines online and has repeatedly warned of the health risks associated with the use of GLP-1 medicines that have been obtained outside of the legitimate pharmacy setting and without a prescription supplied by a doctor providing professional oversight.
It publishes dedicated consumer information on its website – available in multiple languages - clearly outlining the dangers of buying prescription medicines online, including the risks of unauthorised, falsified and substandard products.
To reinforce this messaging, the HPRA has also delivered targeted public awareness campaigns using digital and social media channels. For example, the HPRA has recently run an online campaign highlighting that medicines purchased online may not contain the correct ingredients, may be unsafe, and are not subject to the safeguards that apply when medicines are supplied through recognised and regulated sources such as pharmacies. This campaign is designed to reach people where online purchasing decisions are often made and to encourage safer choices.
In addition, the HPRA engages regularly with the media by providing factual information and public health advice through proactive engagement, press releases and in response to queries, helping to ensure that accurate, balanced messaging reaches the public.
Across all of this work, the HPRA consistently advises that prescription medicines should only be obtained through regulated channels, where appropriate medical supervision is in place, and where patients can have confidence in the quality, safety and authenticity of their medicines.
It is also worth noting that for a medicine to be reimbursed by the HSE it must undergo HSE’s pricing and reimbursement process for medicines, which has supported the introduction of 263 new medicines, from 2021 to March 2026. This has been facilitated by Budgets 2021-2025 which allocated an additional €158 million for new drugs.
Budget 2026 allocated €217 million in additional funding for drugs, with €30 million of this allocated for new drugs funding.
The Year 1 cost of a new drug comes from the allocation for new medicines, but it should be noted that once these medicines are approved for reimbursement the full cost of providing them can reach multiples of this initial cost as their uptake increases.
There is no hierarchy of disease, and pricing and reimbursement applications are considered in order of application.
HSE decisions on which medicines, are reimbursed by the taxpayer are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds, outlined in the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.
Reimbursement is for licenced indications which have been granted market authorisation either by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).
In line with the Act a company must submit an application to the HSE to have a new medicine or new use of an existing medicine added to the formal Reimbursement list and the company must continue to engage with the HSE through-out the process.
As per the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland’s Guidance on Internet Supply of Non-Prescription Medicines | PSI, https://www.psi.ie/practice-supports/guidance-and-guidelines-pharmacists-and-pharmacies/guidance-internet-supply-non the sale of prescription-only medicines (including obesity medicines) online are strictly prohibited in Ireland, from a website in Ireland to residents in another country, and to a resident in Ireland from another country. In Ireland, only non-prescription medicines are allowed to be sold online.