Health experts and politicians are urging the establishment of a nationwide scheme allowing people to return unused or expired medications to pharmacies amid growing concerns over safety risks and environmental damage.
Ireland currently lacks a funded national program for safe medicine disposal, putting it out of step with many other countries. The Dispose of Unused Medicines Properly (DUMP) campaign previously operated on an ad-hoc basis in Cork and Kerry with joint funding from the HSE and local authorities, but the most recent campaign ran in 2023 with no further funding allocated.
“Unused or out-of-date medicines can build up in the home for a variety of reasons,” a HSE spokesperson explained. “Storing these medications long-term is not safe and can contribute to accidental poisonings, intentional overdose, inappropriate sharing of medicines and environmental damage.”
The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has warned that pharmacists can no longer viably accept unused medicines without state funding to cover disposal costs. Some pharmacies have reportedly begun charging customers who return medications as a result.
IPU president Tom Murray identified Ireland’s network of over 1,800 pharmacies as the “logical” focal point for a national disposal program but emphasized that proper funding and staff training would be essential, particularly for handling potentially dangerous items like used injections.
“This is a patient safety and public safety issue,” Murray stated. “There is increasing evidence around the risk of accidental poisoning, where patients maybe through confusion or maybe through a label falling off or medicines could have been stored for too long, take the wrong medicine for what they think is the right thing.”
Research conducted by Behaviour and Attitudes for the IPU in 2020 found that one-third of unused medicines in Ireland are incorrectly disposed of, with 6% being dangerously flushed down sinks or toilets.
Labour Party health spokesperson Marie Sherlock has called for the urgent implementation of a nationwide scheme to protect both the environment and prevent the stockpiling of potentially dangerous medications in homes. “We need to look at how do we protect our water quality, as opposed to flushing it down sink, which we know some people do,” she said.
The HSE has acknowledged interest in expanding the DUMP campaign nationally, noting support from the Irish Pharmacy Union, the National Office for Suicide Prevention, and the HSE itself.