Concern about how much the State pays for medicines alongside general economic uncertainty and rising business costs are the main worries among pharmacists in Ireland.
A quarterly Pharmacy Pulse report by the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) says that while demand for services is growing, almost all pharmacies have experienced a rise in operating costs over the past year.
Rising wages, energy bills, IT infrastructure and insurance costs were identified as among the most significant cost increases reported.
Among other concerns reported by pharmacists were reduced consumer spending (15 per cent), regulatory burdens and losing key staff (both 10 per cent).
Medicine shortages, though widely reported, scarcely rank among the business concerns of pharmacists, with just 1 per cent citing stock shortages as a significant business concern.
The report notes that new initiatives, like pharmacies prescribing for common conditions which was rolled-out earlier this year, highlights the increasingly important role community pharmacies play in delivering frontline healthcare services.
Sales of medicines were just 3.9 per cent higher, by value, in the 12 months to March, though the value of prescription medicine sales jumped by 9.5 per cent over the same period.
Among prescription drugs, the fastest growth was in skin medications (up 256 per cent year-on-year), followed by diabetes drugs at 22 per cent. However, in euro terms, cancer therapies accounted for the largest share of sales at over 39 per cent, followed by diabetic medicines at 12.4 per cent.
In over the counter therapies, pain relief accounted for over a quarter of all sales followed by cough, cold and respiratory treatments at 18.3 per cent.
The fastest growing over the counter segments were digestive remedies (up 9.4 per cent) and skin treatments, which were 7.7 per cent higher than at the same time in 2025.
Some 43 per cent of respondents reported higher footfall over the past 12 months, while close to four in 10 said employment levels had increased during the same period.
Pierce Healy, chairman of the IPU’s pharmacy contractors committee, said continued increases in operating costs and sustained pressure on margins presented significant challenges for the long-term sustainability of the sector.
“It is essential that pharmacies receive the support they need to continue providing accessible, high-quality care to patients in every community,” he said.
“This is particularly important as the Community Pharmacy Agreement places greater emphasis on delivering additional services, which requires more staff and leads to higher staffing costs that must be adequately funded.
“Pharmacy Pulse has been developed to provide pharmacy owners with practical insights into the key trends shaping the sector, from business performance and cost pressures to mergers and acquisitions activity,” said Noel Winters, corporate finance partner at Fitzgerald Power which published the report with the IPU.
