- Registrar Joanne Kissane encourages registered pharmacists to consider nomination
- Five positions for pharmacists will be available
There will be five pharmacists completing their current terms as Council members with the PSI in June this year. The nomination process to appoint new pharmacist members is now open, said the Society.
Registrar and Chief Officer of the PSI, Joanne Kissane, herself a pharmacist and former Council member, encouraged PSI-registered pharmacists interested in making a public service contribution to consider the information available about the role. The nomination period is open until midday on Wednesday, 19 March.
Backgrounds
The PSI Council is the governing body of the regulator. The 21 members, all appointed by the Minister for Health in the public interest, are collectively responsible for the delivery and implementation of the regulator’s strategy and for ensuring that the PSI fulfils its statutory remit. The Council is made up of people from a variety of backgrounds who come to serve on the Council via a variety of routes. The process of selecting pharmacist members, who make up 10 of the 21 members, is prescribed in legislation.
The PSI is keen to see that the Council is representative of society, which in turn is reflected in the diversity of the Pharmacist Register, which currently stands at over 7,700 pharmacists.
The Council has recently approved its strategy for 2025-2028. The Council will oversee the delivery of this strategy and the work of the PSI during what will be a period of significant change for pharmacy and the healthcare landscape. Amongst other things, expanded scope of practice as well as digital health changes are on the agenda. It is imperative that the Council has the expertise, experience and objective scrutiny available to support decision-making that places patient and public safety at its centre, while stewarding the ongoing evolution of the ways that PSI meets its regulatory functions, said the Society.
The vacancies occurring for pharmacist members are those currently held by Mr John Given, Ms Katherine Morrow, Mr Rory O’Donnell, Ms Marie Louisa Power, and Mr Sean Reilly, whose terms of office end on 20 June 2025.
Nomination
Interested pharmacists will find information about the role of a Council member, criteria for appointment and the nomination form on the PSI website, www.psi.ie. Nominees and their proposers must be on the PSI Register of Pharmacists.
An election will be held on 16 April if the nominations exceed the five vacancies available. All registered pharmacists are eligible to vote in the election and will be issued a ballot paper by post in early April.
Pharmacists are encouraged to check that their postal address is up-to-date on the PSI Registration Portal (https://registrations.thepsi.ie/) in order to receive their election post.
