The Irish Nurses Organisation has welcomed a move to allow nurses and midwives to prescribe certain medicines to patients under new legislation planned by the Department of Health.
Statutory provision for the move is provided for in the Irish Medicines Board Act 2006, and draft regulations have already been completed.
Under the regulations, nurses will be able to prescribe a broad range of drugs, although specific restrictions will apply on certain controlled drugs.
The European Commission has been notified of the plan, and it is hoped the regulations will be signed by Minister for Health Mary Harney at the end of a three month-notification period, providing there are no objections from other EU Member States.
Nurses will have to be employed by a health service provider to issue prescriptions and and will only prescribe the drugs relevant to the setting in which they are employed.
The move has been welcomed by the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO), which said it had "huge potential to enhance patient care by significantly expanding the role of nurses and midwives."
INO general secretary Liam Doran described the move as "a tremendous milestone with regard to clinical practice. "The Minister is to be congratulated on her persistence, focus and determination to bring this positive development to the stage where it is now becoming a clinical reality.
"International research and experience has demonstrated that extending prescriptive authority to nurses and midwives enhances patient care outcomes and is shown to be cost efficient and effective," Mr Doran said.
Minister for Health Mary Harney said "Improving patient care is at the heart of this initiative on nurse/midwife prescribing. In particular, I believe that in services such as palliative care, care of the older person and in nurse-led clinics, patients will receive earlier interventions and therefore a better service.
"The basis of our health service should be that patients receive the right care from the right person in the right setting," she said.
Training will be provided to nurses, and funding has already been allocated to the Health Service Executive for this. An Bord Altranais is to introduce a set of rules and requirements in line with the new regulations.