Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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270. To ask the Minister for Health the amount the State spends on statins each year; the reason generic statins are 2,600% cheaper in Spain; and his plans to reduce the cost here. [32795/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Data from the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service Statistical Report for 2011 indicates that statins cost approximately €104 million (excluding dispensing fees and mark-up) across the Community Drugs Schemes (GMS, DPS and LTI) in 2011. This represents a 40% reduction from the corresponding figure of approximately €146 million in 2008 and reflects the ongoing impact of cost containment measures implemented in recent years.

Preliminary figures indicate a further reduction, of approximately 3%, in expenditure on statins for 2012. Further reductions are anticipated for 2013 due to all statins now being off patent and the impact of additional price reductions associated with agreements reached with the pharmaceutical industry in late 2012.

While the recently published ESRI report Pharmaceutical Prices, Prescribing Practices and Usage of Generics in a Comparative Context, finds that prices for originator in-patent and generic medicines are higher in Ireland compared to other EU Member States, the ongoing programme of reforms introduced by the State to reduce pharmaceutical prices and expenditure will have a significant impact on the cost of medicines in this country. Price reductions of the order of 30% per item reimbursed have been achieved between 2009 and 2013 and the average cost per reimbursed item is now running at 2001/2002 levels.

The HSE's Medicines Management Programme has recently, for the first time, identified 'preferred drugs' for prescribers when prescribing Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) or statin medication for patients. The preferred PPI is Lansoprazole and the preferred statin is Simvastatin. The HSE is asking doctors to prescribe these preferred drugs in order to save money, both for patients who pay for their medication and to deliver savings of an estimated €15 million for the taxpayer.

The Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, which came into operation on the 24th of June, will further promote price competition, a greater use of generics and deliver lower medicine prices for the taxpayer and for patient. Under the Act, the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) is responsible for the assessment for interchangeability of medicines. My Department requested the IMB to prioritise the assessment of medicines which are of the greatest cost and a list of 20 such medicines has been prepared. Atorvastatin products are the first on the list for assessment and it is anticipated that the first List of Interchangeable Medicines containing groups of atorvastatin products will be published in mid-August. At that stage prices of atorvastatin products will fall by 20% as provided for under the current agreement with generic manufacturers. The HSE will then set a reference price for each group of products resulting in further price reductions for atorvastatin products. It is anticipated that the first reference price will be implemented by November 2013.

I am confident that these reforms will result in generic prices in Ireland moving towards European norms over the next year.

Statins are one of the most cost-effective drug therapies available and the value for money associated with these drugs will be even greater due to the ongoing price reductions.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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271. To ask the Minister for Health to rank by price the amount the State spends, or subsidises by tax relief on prescribed medication and or prescription refunds, on the top ten prescribed drugs. [32796/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The following table shows the top ten drugs by total cost in the General Medical Services (GMS) Scheme, the Drug Payment Scheme (DPS) and the Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme (these data are provisional for 2012).

Top Ten Drugs by Total Cost 2012

The issue of tax relief on prescribed medication and/or prescription refunds is a matter for my colleague, Mr Michael Noonan, T.D., Minister for Finance.