One pharmacist is appealing for help to tackle a supply shortage of more than 160 vital drugs.
Pharmacy unions have voiced 'increasing concern' that this could pose a serious risk to patients forced to switch or even come off their medications.
Kathy Maher is Chair of PCC Committee of Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU). She told Newstalk Breakfast some medicines are being rationed.
"Last week from my two wholesalers - there are only two mainline wholesalers in Ireland - I got e-mails with hundreds of medicines that are on an allocation basis," she said.
"For those medicines, while they're not entirely in short supply, I know that I'll only be allocated a certain amount that will do me for one month.
"And when they run out, they run out."
Pharmacists at the Life Pharmacy in Rathmines in Dublin in 2020. Picture by: Niall Carson/PA Archive/PA ImagesShe said she has had to come up with alternatives.
"We're at a stage, in practice, where I'm rationing some medicines - some people I have to give them a certain amount - and hopefully can try and source some somewhere else.
"If I don't have their particular strength, I might have to double up in other strengths, or try and switch a brand.
"It's been really stressful for pharmacists, but more so stressful for patients and their families."
'Definite shortages'
Kathy said the shortage could be down to several different issues.
"It came to a head for me as a pharmacist when I had a palliative care patient who needed those medicines, and I couldn't give them to them in solid form.
"There's 160 definite shortages and a greater number on an allocation basis.
"The problems for this are often down to raw ingredients, supply chain issues, Brexit could be a problem.
"It's all a worsening problem, and it leads to increased exempt or unlicensed medicine use."
'Grave issues'
And she said this is leading to hours more work for pharmacies.
We're spending hours every week trying to source medicines that are completely unavailable and trying to go back to prescribers and go with alternatives.
"We're either going with alternative medication, or perhaps we have to source an unlicensed medicine - which is something that isn't licenced for use in Ireland but licenced for use in other countries.
"There are grave, grave issues going on."
Solutions could include working closer with the HPRA and manufactures "to give pharmacists as much notice as possible of potential drug shortages, and the expected duration", she added.
