Superintendent and Supervising Pharmacists

The following action will inform the PSI of the vacancy and must be completed immediately after a post became vacant.  

The company secretary or the nominated person for the pharmacy must access their account on the PSI online registration portal and open the employment record of the pharmacy to be amended. Select ‘Manage my Pharmacies’ and then ‘Edit Pharmacy’ and scroll down to ‘Personnel’. Add and save the end date of the employment contract of the superintendent or supervising pharmacist. This update can also be completed by the superintendent or supervising pharmacist.  

Alternatively, the pharmacist leaving the post may access their account on the PSI online registration portal and add the end date of their employment contract. Select ‘Your Profile’ and ‘My Employment History’ and ‘Edit’. Add the end date and submit. You can also inform the PSI by email to info@psi.ie The end date of the employment contract and the pharmacy’s name and registration number should be included in this communication. 

If a supervising pharmacist is on extended leave of absence (for example maternity leave or extended sick leave), the pharmacy owner must inform the PSI that the post is vacant and appoint a new supervising pharmacist.

Please read the section below ‘Requirements to be appointed to the role as Superintendent Pharmacist or Supervising Pharmacist’ to ensure that the pharmacist you are appointing meets the requirements. 

The company secretary or the nominated person for the pharmacy must submit an application to appoint the pharmacist through their account on the PSI online registration portal and pay the fee. Select ‘Manage my Pharmacies’ and then ‘Material Change’. You can find a video to assist you on the Helpful Resources section on the portal. 

The fee can be paid either by bank card or as an electronic bank transfer (EFT). For an EFT payment, download the Fee Demand Notice (FDN) at the end of the application process. The FDN includes information on the fee to be paid and the PSI bank details. The FDN number must be added as reference text to the bank transfer. If you do not include the FDN number in the payment reference, you can send an email to info@psi.ie with the application number and payment details to prevent any delays in processing your submitted application.  

There can be only one superintendent pharmacist for all pharmacies that are owned by the same corporate body as detailed in Section 28(a) of the Pharmacy Act 2007.    

The company secretary or the nominated person for the pharmacy must submit an application to appoint the superintendent pharmacist to all pharmacies in the group through their account on the PSI’s online registration portal.  

Select ‘Manage my Pharmacies’ and ‘Bulk Change to Superintendent Pharmacist’, add all the pharmacies and pay the fee. 

The fee can be paid either by bank card or as an electronic bank transfer (EFT). For an EFT payment, download the Fee Demand Notice (FDN) at the end of the application process. The FDN includes information on the fee to be paid and PSI bank details. The FDN number must be added as reference text to the bank transfer. If you do not include the FDN number in the payment reference, you can send an email to info@psi.ie with the application number and payment details to prevent any delays in processing your submitted application. 

The appointed supervising pharmacist or superintendent pharmacist will receive an email from the PSI online registration portal if they have been appointed or removed as a supervising or superintended pharmacist (please remember to check your spam folder).

For appointments, the pharmacist must log on to their account on the PSI’s online registration portal and confirm their new appointment by completing the mandatory declarations. Select ‘My Pending Declarations’ in the top right-hand corner drop down menu. The appointment cannot be approved until this action is completed.

Superintendent Pharmacist

Requirement for a Superintendent Pharmacist is contained in the Pharmacy Act, sections 27(b), 28(a) and 29(b) which state that in the carrying on of a retail pharmacy business “the part of the business that consists of the management and administration of the sale and supply of medicinal products is under the personal control of a registered pharmacist who has a 3-year minimum post-registration experience”. 

Supervising Pharmacist

Requirement for a Supervising Pharmacist is contained in the Pharmacy Act, sections 27(c), 28(b) and 29(c) which state that at the premises where a retail pharmacy business is carried on, there must be “a registered pharmacist who has a 3-year minimum post-registration experience in whole time charge of the carrying on of the business there.” 

Requirement for 3 years minimum post-registration experience

The requirement for the 3 years minimum post-registration experience is further detailed in section 25 of the Pharmacy Act as meaning experience of at least 3 years practicing whole-time as a registered pharmacist in a retail pharmacy business or “practicing whole-time as a pharmacist outside the state in a business corresponding to a retail pharmacy business on foot of a qualification which was (or could have been) the qualification appropriate for practice by reference to which he or she has registered under the Act”.  

Please note that the latter requirement implies, that if you had your qualification recognised in Ireland and had to complete an adaptation period as part of this process, you must subsequently be registered as a pharmacist for a minimum of three years in Ireland and comply with the other requirements listed, before you can be appointed as a supervising or superintendent pharmacist.