The Matrix ‘Déjà vu’ has been released… but nobody told Keanu Reeves

Áine Mac Grory wonders who is going to take the red pill and who is going to take the blue pill

The Matrix Re-Reloaded

There are glitches in the Department of Health’s (DoH) matrix, and the pharmacy sector is in grave danger because of it.

Fear not, though. As Leo famously said on Tuesday 17 March 2020 in his address to the public: “Not all superheroes wear capes, some wear scrubs and gowns. All of our healthcare workers need us to do the right thing in the weeks ahead. Our community services and hospitals are being tooled-up. Essential equipment is on the way.”

I will never forget this.

I will never forget how community pharmacists received nothing. Not so much as a latex glove or a single face mask. Not so much as an individual reference of appreciation.

Certainly not so much as a cent of this €1,000 healthcare worker payment.

I believe he mentioned pharmacists once when he announced to the public that scripts can be valid for a longer period than the legislation allowed BEFORE telling any pharmacists of this ahead of time. For those proficient in the movie The Matrix: Think black cat.

I will never forget looking up from the dispensing bench and seeing the barricaded door being forcefully opened by mobs of people demanding medication from me that I couldn’t supply because they had been stockpiled and had gone short. Black cat.

I will never forget the fear I experienced as these angry unmasked people screamed in my face and breathed all over me in doing so. I will never forget the fear for my life and that of my family as a result. That I was going to bring this virus into my home and contribute to its transmission because I was so exposed and unequipped.

With that in mind, I know the most topical thing in community pharmacy now as I write this article is the disgrace that was the announcement made by Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (JCMN) on Liveline, 15 April 2025.

For anyone who missed it, I would head over to Spotify and listen to a succinct summary offered on Callan’s Kicks, episode 18, Friday 25. Ten-and-a-half minutes in, or thereabouts. He beautifully captures all the main points in under three minutes for us time-poor pharmacists. An excellent resource to have handy.

I honestly didn’t think there was a Minister who could have exceeded their predecessor in making outrageous promises to the public that are simply impossible to keep. Black cat 2.

Equally, I didn’t think I could have an even lower opinion of a Minister than I did of her predecessor. Wrong on both counts. This personally hurts my soul because whilst I am human — and of course I have been incorrect many times in the past — the fact remains that I hate being wrong.

I have a word count to adhere to, and I have already spoken at length on this topic. Yet here I am again discussing another unworkable and totally botched scheme roll-out. Black cat 3.

Here I am again being shouted at in my face. What black cat are we at now? 4?

I think it’s safe to say the DoH never saw the Netflix docuseries Don’t F*** with Cats. I wonder if they are familiar with a woman scorned. In this case, MANY women.

The Minister – Morpheus

Enter JCMN with a mission presented by way of Instagram reel. This reel isn’t empowering. It’s programming.

She’s offering a choice, like Morpheus to Neo, oddly similar but certainly not the same. A pill, if you will (or a patch?). Rather, €5 per one.

Take the red pill and opt in. Accept the €5 dispensing fee for each HRT ‘reimbursable’ item. Watch as your pharmacy loses money with every product dispensed. Stand back and let the public believes it’s ‘free’, not realising that someone else is paying the price. That someone being us, the pharmacists.

Or take the blue pill — opt out. Let the Mná na hÉireann continue paying. Be painted as the villain standing in the way of progress, of equality, of health.

Had I the opportunity to interject during this reel, this is how it would’ve gone: JCMN: I want you to get your HRT products for free.

Me: That’s brilliant! So, the Government’s covering everything? JCMN: We’ll give pharmacies €5 per item. Me: Wait, what? But what about — JCMN: Today is a sort of a call to action. Me: Wait — we’re still footing the rest of the cost? JCMN: But the women pay nothing. Me: But we make a loss… Minister?… MINISTER?

Another unworkable scheme downloaded from the Department of Health’s malfunctioning mainframe. There’s no escape from this loop. Black cat again?

Pharmacists are being asked to choose — not between truth and illusion — but between professional ethics and financial survival. Between being the hero or the scapegoat.

So, Minister, if you’re going to step into the Matrix, at least own your role. Don’t be a system bug. Be a guide. Because right now, we don’t need a reel. We need a real conversation.

The call to action

I had a completely different article planned for this month’s edition of Irish Pharmacist, but considering recent events and due to a completely unanticipated announcement made on Liveline on Tuesday 15 April 2025, I must now put that article on pause. I remain as I have, which is, absolutely, thoroughly and unequivocally disappointed with the Government’s treatment of the community pharmacy sector. I have never seen such a colossal display of disrespect and insult to the women of Ireland as I have this past seven months.

And what a choice of platform to make such an announcement.

And a call to the pharmacists of Ireland to support Mná na hÉireann?

To avoid confusion of tone, I ask the reader to think Greta Thunberg 23 September 2019 when I say, ‘how dare you’.

So, what now? Well, to all Government officials — this is MY call to action to YOU. I am asking you to support me and the Mná na hÉireann by sacrificing €5 of your own money per HRT item dispensed to every HRT eligible woman from this coming 1 June onwards. Safe to say community pharmacists have showed up for their country time and time again. Now it’s someone else’s turn.

The Council

Now on to a completely unrelated note. I often reflect on the competency of accountability and its essential role in the code of conduct all registered pharmacists must adhere to. Without being able to hold yourself accountable, one’s fitness to practice comes into question. Interesting.

And finally, my last completely unrelated note. I was elated and honoured to be elected to PSI Council. A Minister for Health-appointed role (nice one, Jen).

To the 65 voters who gave me their number one preference: Thank you! To the 32 that had me as second preference on Siofra Kelly’s ballots: Thank you! To absolutely anyone who went to the trouble of listing me at all in any preference order: Thank you!

To Leon O’Hagan: I continue to express my delight that you mopped the floor with this election, and I could not be more thrilled to get the opportunity to work alongside you. As the Instagram influencers say, ‘My heart is full’.

All I can do now is to continue as I have and speak up. What that will yield is beyond my control unfortunately, as we know. The PSI is governed by a Council which consists of 21 people. A lay majority of one with 11 members who are not pharmacists. The remaining 10 members are registered pharmacists elected by the profession/ nominated by the Schools of Pharmacy. I am one of 10 of a minority, but before, I was none of 10.

What I will do is work as hard as possible with the lay majority and offer professional perspective on policies, legislation or practices that they don’t have. I will always keep this 2025-2028

Opinion | COMMENT PSI Strategy in the back of my mind. I want to see it implemented to its full potential so that our patients continue to be in receipt of expert, excellent and safe care.

Being left in suspense

As 1 June 2025 rapidly approaches, I still don’t know what will happen. What I do know is that pharmacists across the country are already burnt out — or teetering on the edge. We’re running loss- making services, and the threat of closure is becoming less and less distant.

Replacement therapy, replacement therapy, and replacement therapy. Did I mention repetition of tasks before? My article topics are black cats themselves.

This horror movie isn’t over — and unfortunately, this article ends on a cliffhanger. I am clinging on for dear life.

Áine is a Superintendent Pharmacist and pharmacy owner with over 18 years of experience working in community pharmacies across Ireland. In 2014, she earned her Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree in the UK. Her career journey has encompassed a variety of roles, including locum, support, and supervising, culminating in her recent transition to pharmacy ownership. She is deeply committed to upholding the integrity and vital role of community pharmacy in Ireland, combining her extensive experience with a passion for patient care and professional excellence.