Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 May 2026
523. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the basis on which the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland has determined that a 42% increase in registration fees over three years is proportionate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35839/26]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for raising this question.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) is a statutory regulator established under the Pharmacy Act 2007 and is primarily funded through registrant fees. The proposed fee increases are informed by the independent Core Funding Review (October 2025), which concluded that PSI is already in operating deficit, that reserves are being drawn down, and that without intervention, PSI risks being unable to deliver core statutory functions.
The Review modelled PSI’s income and expenditure to 2029 and assessed a number of scenarios. It concluded that, under its baseline scenario, a 41.75% increase across all fee categories is required to achieve financial sustainability (defined in the modelling as an average annual surplus of €0.3m over 2026–2029) and to enable PSI to deliver its statutory functions and planned work programme. The Review also notes that the recommended increase reflects principles underpinning the fee model, including full cost recovery, value for money, evidence-based decision-making, and equity, and that alternative funding options were examined but not considered viable to address the structural funding gap within the required timeframe.
The Review further recognised the scale of the increase and recommended that, subject to legislative constraints, options to reduce the year-one impact, including phasing over 2–3 years, should be examined, noting the implications for reserves.
