Community pharmacists yesterday called for more medicines, including the morning-after pill, to be made available over the counter to patients without prescription.
Darragh O'Loughlin, chairman of the community pharmacy committee of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU), said there were many medicines with a good safety record available directly from pharmacists in other EU countries for which patients here require a prescription.
"This means unnecessary delays and costs for patients here in getting their medication," he said.
"It is important that patients get timely access to emergency hormonal contraception.
"Many patients arrive at pharmacies at the weekend urgently looking for emergency hormonal contraception and find it difficult to get an appointment with their GP at weekends."
Mr O'Loughlin was speaking in advance of the IPU's annual conference in Sligo this weekend, where this issue will be among a long list of topics for debate.
Minister for Health Mary Harney said last year it would be a matter for the Irish Medicines Board to decide whether or not the morning-after pill should be made available over the counter.