The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has revealed a sharp drop in the number of medicines being recalled.

Its 2017 annual report says a total of 82 human medicine recalls took place last year.

This compares to a 2016 figure of 201 recalls.

There were also seven recalls relating to veterinary medicine products last year - down from eight in 2016.

The report also details that during 2017, 684 new human medicines were authorised - slightly up on the year before.

There were also 96 clinical trials of human medicines approved.

The HPRA also assessed and followed up 4,402 adverse reaction reports.

There were 397 suspected adverse reactions and events reported and assessed in respect of veterinary medicines.

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The HPRA says it "welcomes the commitment to reporting among healthcare professionals and the general public as the information received contributes significantly to the ongoing monitoring of medicines safety on the Irish market."

According to Dr Lorraine Nolan, chief executive of the HPRA, 2017 was another "significant year".

She says: "As a regulator, external recognition of the effectiveness of our operating procedures and standards clearly endorses our strategic commitment to and investment in these areas.

"The confirmation by the FDA of the equivalency of our systems in relation to GMP inspections is a hugely significant development and we look forward to shortly participating as a recognised country under the US/EU mutual recognition agreement.

"Also during 2017, we received an excellent overall rating of 4.5 (out of 5) though BEMA, which is the benchmarking programme for European human and veterinary medicine agencies.

"The feedback and learnings from our BEMA audit will continue to drive our ambition to deliver the best possible outcomes for patients and members of the public."