S.I. No. 508/2025 - Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Continuing Professional Development) (Amendment) Rules 2025

1. (1) These Rules may be cited as the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Continuing Professional Development) (Amendment) Rules 2025.

(2) The Principal Rules and these Rules may be cited together as the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Continuing Professional Development) Rules 2015 and 2025.

Interpretation

2. In these Rules “Principal Rules” means the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Continuing Professional Development) Rules 2015 (

S.I. No. 553 of 2015

).

Amendment of Rule 3 of Principal Rules

3. Rule 3 of the Principal Rules is amended—

(a) in the definition of “CPD” by inserting “and pharmaceutical assistants” after “pharmacists”,

(b) by inserting after the definition of “CPD” the following definitions

“CPD review policy for pharmaceutical assistants” means the policy referred to in Rule 5(b);

“CPD review policy for pharmacists” means the policy referred to in Rule 5(a);”,

(c) by deleting the definitions of “criteria” and “Executive Director”, and

(d) by substituting for the definitions of “Register of Pharmacists” and “Register of Retail Pharmacy Businesses” the following definitions

“‘Register of Pharmaceutical Assistants’, ‘Register of Pharmacists’ and ‘Register of Retail Pharmacy Businesses’ mean the relevant registers established under section 13(1)(a) of the Act;

‘registered pharmaceutical assistant’ means a person whose name is entered in the Register of Pharmaceutical Assistants;”.

Amendment of Parts 2 and 3 of Principal Rules

4. (1) For the purpose of discharging the Society’s functions under section 7(1)(d) of the Act, the Council may establish, in the form of a management arrangement, the Irish Institute of Pharmacy, to arrange for the implementation and delivery of the CPD system, as determined by the Council, and the engagement by pharmacists and pharmaceutical assistants with such system.

(2) Where the Council establishes the Institute of Pharmacy in accordance with paragraph (1), the Council may, from time to time, appoint a corporate body as the Managing Body of the Institute, tasked with providing facilities and services for the Institute of Pharmacy, and the Institute shall implement and deliver the CPD system in accordance with annual work plans approved by the Council.

CPD review policies

5. Rule 8 of the Principal Rules is amended—

(a) in paragraph (1), by inserting “in accordance with the CPD review policy for pharmacists” after “appropriate CPD”, and

(b) in paragraph (3), by substituting “CPD review policy for pharmacists” for “Core Competency Framework for Pharmacists”.

Amendment of Rule 9 of Principal Rules and insertion of Rule 9A into Principal Rules

6. The Principal Rules are amended by substituting for Rule 9 the following Rules

“Scope of this Part

7. Rule 10 of the Principal Rules is amended—

(a) in paragraph (1) by substituting “electronically” for “through the website of the Institute”,

(b) in paragraph (2) by deleting “absolute”, and

(c) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following paragraph

“(3) Every pharmacist shall submit prescribed extracts of their ePortfolio to the Institute for review on an annual basis or at such other intervals as may be directed by the Institute in consultation with the Council, as required under the CPD review policy for pharmacists, save where they have been exempted by the Council from such obligation, in accordance with such policy, due to extenuating circumstances.”.

Amendment of Rule 11 of Principal Rules

8. The Principal Rules are amended by substituting for Rule 11 the following

“Supervision of CPD activity

9. Rule 12 of the Principal Rules is revoked.

Amendment of Rule 13 of Principal Rules

9A. (1) Every person whose name is entered in the Register of Pharmacists shall also be registered with the Institute and such registration with the said Institute shall be valid for so long as the person’s name is entered in the Register of Pharmacists.

(2) The Council shall, on a person’s first registration as a pharmacist, or, as the case may require, on the first continued registration as a pharmacist following the commencement of these Rules, including on the re-registration or restoration of a person to the Register of Pharmacists, inform the pharmacist of his or her registration with the Institute, subsequent to which the responsibility for ongoing engagement with the Institute shall remain with the pharmacist.”.

Amendment of Rule 10 of Principal Rules

10. The Principal Rules are amended by substituting for Rule 13 the following

“Referral of information on non-compliance to Registrar

11. (1) Following the submission of the prescribed extracts of a pharmacist’s ePortfolio in accordance with Rule 10(3), the Institute shall issue a Certificate of Engagement by the Institute.

(2) The Council may request from the Institute information in relation to compliance with Rule 10(3) and issuance of Certificates of Engagement under paragraph (1).

(3) A selection of ePortfolios submitted for review pursuant to Rule 10(3) shall be reviewed by the Institute in accordance with the CPD review policy for pharmacists.

(4) The review shall be carried out by the Institute having regard to the objectives and requirements set out in Rule 8 and the CPD review policy for pharmacists.

(5) The outcome of the review carried out under this Rule shall be conveyed to the pharmacist concerned by the Institute within the timescales set down by the Institute and, where such review is satisfactory, the said outcome shall be issued in the form of a Certificate of Compliance with CPD Requirements.”.

Revocation of Rule 12 of Principal Rules

13. The Institute shall refer to the Registrar any instance of non-compliance with these Rules by a pharmacist which has not been resolved through the Institute’s remediation policy.”.

I, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Minister for Health, consent to the making of the foregoing Rules.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

23 October, 2025.

JENNIFER CARROLL MACNEILL,

Minister for Health.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland,

23 October, 2025.

DENIS O’DRISCOLL,

President.

JOANNE KISSANE,

Registrar.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(

This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.

)

These Rules amend the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Continuing Professional Development) Rules 2015 to provide for an updated CPD system in respect of pharmacists and to introduce a CPD system for pharmaceutical assistants.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

31

st October,

2025.

The Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on the said Society by

section 11

of the

Pharmacy Act 2007

(No. 20 of 2007) (as adapted by the Health and Children (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011 (

S.I. No. 219 of 2011

)), with the consent of the Minister for Health, hereby makes the following rules:-

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