To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) the number of pharmacies that closed between January 2023 and April 2024; (ii) how this figure compares to the previous ten years; (iii) how many of these where independent pharmacies; (iv) how many were located in rural areas; and (v) whether community pharmacy underfunding was the main reason given for these closures.

A total of 9 pharmacies closed between January 2023 and December 2023, which are the latest publicly available figures. This compares to a total of 10 closures in the previous ten years (January 2013 to December 2022). Of the 9 pharmacies that closed between January 2023 and December 2023, 3 were independent pharmacies and none were located in rural areas. Closure requests are submitted in writing by letter or email correspondence. There is no requirement to state the reason for closure. In one closure request, underfunding was specifically stated as the reason for closure in the written correspondence.