New CPO will not be ‘working in a silo’
The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) National Pharmacy Conference 2026 featured an appearance and address by Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and a number of presentations by expert speakers, such as Mr Frank Olden, pharmacist and IPU Pharmacy Practice Working Group, who delivered a talk on business CPD titled ‘Improving Pharmacy Processes’. Clinical CPD was also covered with a talk by Ms Helen Deneher, Chief II Pharmacist, Mental Health Services, HSE, titled ‘Metabolic Syndrome in Mental Health’.
Attendees also heard from Dr Kate Kirby, Head of Performance Psychology at Sport Ireland Institute, who delivered
a talk titled ‘Reaching and Sustaining Peak Performance Levels’. Mr Larry Ryan, Director at Ipsos B&A & Noel Winters, Partner, Fitzgerald Power, also presented on ‘Review of the Pharmacy Sector: Public Perceptions and Business Reality’.
Mr Ronan Sheridan, pharmacist and IPU Professional Academy Assessor, gave a Business CPD presentation titled ‘Managing Challenging Behaviour in Pharmacy’, while Dr Susan O’Dwyer, Head of Professional Services at the IPU, spoke on ‘Advancing Patient Care: The Evolving Role of Pharmacists under the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025’.
The meeting concluded with ‘The Great Debate: Reimagining Community Care — The Era of Opportunity’. This lively discussion featured Dr Catriona Bradley, Founder and MD of Fios and Praxis Ltd; Prof Mary Horgan, Chief Medical Officer at the Department of
Health; Ms Caoimhe McAuley, incoming IPU President; and Ms Sinead Langan, pharmacist and EPC member.
The keynote speech was delivered by Prof Horgan, who gave a talk on the theme, ‘Reimagining Community Care: From Policy to Patient’. Prof Horgan discussed a range of issues relevant to pharmacy, including healthcare policy, primary care capacity, immunisation, healthcare service investment, and others. She also discussed how important community pharmacy is to Government’s
‘I would call on you to think about how pharmacies can promote the Healthy Ireland framework when it is delivered’
strategy of delivering care as close to the patient as possible.
On the announcement of the new Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) role, Prof Horgan said: “I am absolutely delighted. The way we work in the Department is, we have a Chief Medical Officer, who supports medical advice across the Department; a Chief Nursing Officer; a Chief Dental Officer; and now a CPO. We work in teams, whether that be in hospitals or in communities, but always within the Department, so we are not in silos. This is an important message to get across.”
She continued: “You bring a particular expertise to the table and you joining that collaboration is so important, because we look differently at the same things and that collaborative teamwork is what brings innovation to the table. I’m really looking forward to working with the CPO in the very near future.”
Discussing the concept of pharmacies as community health hubs, Prof Horgan said: “I would call on you to think about how pharmacies can promote the Healthy Ireland framework when it is delivered. There are opportunities for you to look at how we can further strengthen prevention on smoking, vaping, and excess alcohol consumption, but also to promote fitness and physical activity and healthy diets, and how you as a group can support the Healthy Ireland framework, which will be delivered later this year. We will be delivering on areas like pregnancy and alcohol, men’s health, and the autumn/winter vaccination programme,” she said.
