Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Drug Payment Scheme (DPS) provides for the refund of the amount by which expenditure on approved prescribed medicines or medical and surgical appliances exceeds a named threshold in any calendar month. The DPS is not means tested and is available to anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland.

The DPS threshold was reduced twice in 2022:

• From €114 to €100 per month on 1 January 2022.
• From €100 to €80 per month on 1 March 2022.

Therefore, currently, under the DPS, no individual or family pays more than €80 a month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines/medical items. The DPS significantly reduces the cost burden for people with ongoing expenditure on medicines.

The estimated cost of reducing the DPS threshold to €60 per month is €39m per annum. This costing does not take account of demographic changes, changes in eligibility (e.g., loss of medical cards), or how the reduction in the threshold may impact claimant behaviour.