A Castlerea native is calling for pharmacies to be allowed prescribe medication to patients, without the need for a GP's approval.
Third-Generation pharmacist Sheena Mitchell has written to incoming Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, asking him to change the laws so that chemists can supply medicines for illnesses like conjunctivitis and shingles.
She says it would help free up GP surgeries, and alleviate pressures on the healthcare system.
Sheena Mitchell also wants pharmacists to be allowed give medical card patients over-the-counter medication:
''So at the moment, if you have a patient who is using an over the counter product, but they have a medical card, they have to go to the GP to get a physical prescription for that product and then bring it into the pharmacy. Whereas if in the UK, for example, even when I was there back in 2006, that long ago, we were actually able to write a prescription for an over the counter product.''
