Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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207. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated annual cost of reducing the monthly drugs payment scheme threshold from €100 to €72 for single-headed households; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8806/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The estimated annual cost of reducing the monthly Drug Payment Scheme threshold from €100 to €72 for single-headed households is €5.23m.

The estimated annual cost, in respect of families, for such a threshold reduction would be €18.67m. Therefore, the estimated annual cost for all claimants would be €23.9m.

The following caveats apply in respect of this data:

- The source data used for determining costs was the claiming month of March 2021 and was annualised to determine the full year cost.

- The costing excludes the increase for any individuals who were below the threshold level as of March 2021, or €114 per month.  

- The costing excludes any impact resulting from an aging demographic.