Government “out of touch” on blister packs issue, says O’Reilly

Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly has said Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, is “completely out of touch with the lived reality of ordinary people” as the row over blister packs rages on.

Before Christmas, it was announced that pharmacies would be allowed to charge for blister packs, which keep medications separate, when they were previously free.

Patients may have to pay up to €50 per month for blister packs to help manage their medicines

O’Reilly said the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill “shows a worrying lack of understanding of the anxiety and distress now being experienced by older people, people with disabilities and those managing complex medication regimes,” as a result of the price hikes.

The Dublin Fingal West TD said “when a minister dismisses this as ‘nothing has changed’, she shows she has no idea what it feels like to depend on a blister pack to stay safe, independent and alive.”

“Blister packs are not a matter of convenience, but a vital patient-safety support relied upon by thousands of people every day.”

The Sinn Féin social protection spokesperson said “blister packs help ensure the right medication is taken at the right time. For many people, particularly those with cognitive impairment, disability or multiple prescriptions, they are essential to staying well and avoiding serious harm.”

“It was deeply misleading for the minister to frame the controversy as one of individual wrongdoing, when the reality is a long-standing failure by the Department of Health to properly regulate and clarify how blister packs were funded.”

O’Reilly noted “this issue arose from a confused and inconsistently applied system that the department allowed to drift for years. Patients did not create that confusion – yet they are now the ones being left anxious, uncertain and afraid.”

“If there were genuine concerns about incorrect billing, those issues should have been dealt with through oversight and enforcement – not by creating chaos for vulnerable people.

O’Reilly said “you do not fix a regulatory failure by pulling the rug out from under patients who rely on this service to live safely and independently.”

“Claims that no policy change has occurred are contradicted by what patients and families are experiencing across the state.

“People who have depended on this support for years are now being told they may have to pay, shop around, or go without. For older people and carers, that uncertainty is not abstract – it is frightening and destabilising.

O’Reilly said she was calling on the minister to “immediately engage with pharmacists and patient representatives to guarantee continued access to blister packs without cost to those who depend on them.”

“The minister needs to step outside the bubble, acknowledge the real-world impact of her decisions, and act before lasting harm is done,” she said.