Editorial: Latest issue over EU medicines rules shows what a mess Northern Ireland is in

New concerns about Brussels rules on common over-the-counter medicines highlight what an unworkable mess Northern Ireland is currently in.

When apparently good news about a reduction in the severity of Irish Sea border checks was announced this week, the DUP leader Gavin Robinson warned that the devil is in the detail.

The truth of that statement was laid bare when it later emerged that treatments for common ailments like cold sores could be caught by new EU rules, potentially adding to pressures on the health service.

Over two years from the signing of the latest iteration of the Protocol – the Windsor Framework – there are concerns that some products currently available from pharmacies will require prescriptions from GPs.

New UK-wide arrangements for medicines came into effect on 1 January this year. They were meant to ensure “the long-term stability of medicines supply to Northern Ireland” – and to a large extent, they do.

But if Brussels rules mean that common treatments for dandruff or athlete’s foot require people to go to their GP, it entirely undermines a successful strategy by the department of health to divert people away from their doctor for issues they can treat themselves.

If the new UK-EU SPS deal unveiled this week reduces burdensome paperwork for GB businesses selling into NI, that is of course to be welcomed. However, unionists – and the government – need to keep a close eye on the detail to ensure no nasty surprises years down the line.

As with the latest medicines issue, the EU’s insistence that the Windsor Framework stays in place despite the new accord shows that Brussels is unwilling to relinquish its grip. Nothing short of GB and NI being in the same market again will fix this mess.