Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

198. To ask the Minister for Health when the threshold for the drugs payment scheme will be changed from €124 to €114 per month as promised in budget 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25798/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Budget 2020 provided for a reduction in the monthly threshold of the Drugs Payment Scheme from €124 to €114. Although it was intended that this measure would be implemented from 1 September, funding of this Budget 2020 commitment was contingent on the realisation of certain savings within the health budget.

However, these savings have not been realised as the pandemic has placed a significant demand on public finances, a substantial proportion of which has been allocated to the health system. In that context, decisions on the associated funding and a potential implementation date are being actively considered.