National Consultation Workshop (Ireland)

As part of the ongoing Erasmus+ PharmTech Mobility Project, the TU Dublin team (Ireland) has successfully completed its national consultation on the draft Harmonised Pharmacy Technician Education Framework.

The consultation sought to gather comprehensive feedback from key Irish stakeholders — including education providers, professional bodies, hospital and community pharmacy representatives, and the Department of Health — through a series of dedicated workshops. The goal was to ensure that the final framework accurately reflects Ireland’s educational and professional context while aligning with broader European objectives.

The Irish national consultation consisted of three engagement events held throughout October 2025.

Workshop 1: Consultation with Pharmacy Technician Educators (2 October 2025)

The first consultation workshop, held online on 2 October 2025, brought together representatives from Irish pharmacy technician education providers. Chaired by Dr Tao Zhang (TU Dublin), participants included representatives from TU Dublin (Dr Seana Hogan and Dr Gemma Kinsella), Atlantic Technological University (ATU), South East Technological University (SETU), Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), and the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU).

Discussions focused on:

• The alignment of Ireland’s existing qualifications with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).

• Ensuring the diversity of Irish programmes is fully represented within the harmonised framework.

• The inclusion of work-based learning models, management of controlled drugs, and the Level 7 BSc in Pharmacy Technician Studies as key national elements.

• Participants agreed that the harmonised framework should promote consistency across Europe while maintaining sufficient flexibility to reflect national contexts.

Workshop 2: National Pharmacy Stakeholder Consultation (15 October 2025)

The second national consultation workshop, held on 15 October 2025, brought together more than 20 representatives from across the Irish pharmacy sector - including community and hospital pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, educators, pharmaceutical companies and professional organisations.

This workshop reviewed the draft Harmonised Framework and examined its relevance to Irish practice. Key discussion points included:

• The need for national standardisation in pharmacy technician education and training.

• Recognition of advanced hospital pharmacy technician roles, such as aseptic compounding, medicines management, and clinical trial support.

• Integration of emerging competencies, including digital health, falsified medicines management, and clinical research skills.

• Stakeholders expressed strong support for developing a clear, consistent, and competency-based framework to strengthen workforce development and facilitate professional mobility across Europe.

Meeting with the Department of Health

The final consultation meeting took place on 10 October 2025 with representatives from the Department of Health, Sarah Cullen and Cora O’Connell, alongside Dr Tao Zhang, Dr Seana Hogan, Dr Gemma Kinsella, Prof Christine O’Connor, and Dr Julie Dunne from TU Dublin.

The Department of Health team provided updates on the Government’s ongoing review of pharmacy technician roles in Ireland, following the publication of the Expert Taskforce Report on the Expansion of the Role of Pharmacists (August 2024).

Discussions highlighted strong synergies between the PharmTech Mobility Project and the Department’s planned national research initiative on the pharmacy technician workforce. Both parties expressed a commitment to future collaboration to ensure alignment between European educational developments and national policy priorities.

Dr Julie Dunne noted that several key Irish institutions, including TU Dublin, have previously developed comprehensive documentation on pharmacy technician curricula in response to PSI requests. She suggested that the documentation produced for the Department’s upcoming research project should be designed strategically — focusing on clarity and comparability rather than excessive detail.
Professor Christine O’Connor further highlighted that the experience and outputs from the PharmTech Mobility Project would provide valuable insights and resources for the Department’s forthcoming work.

The insights gathered through Ireland’s national consultation will directly inform the next revision of the draft Harmonised Pharmacy Technician Education Framework. These contributions will help shape a shared European standard to enhance educational alignment and professional mobility across partner countries.

The final framework, incorporating feedback from all participating nations, will be presented at the PharmTech Mobility Project International Conference in January 2026, bringing together partners and stakeholders from Ireland, Spain, Belgium, and Portugal.