Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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2057.To ask the Minister for Health if he will reduce the existing cap of €80 per month for the drug payment scheme in budget 2025. [31259/24]

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.

The cost of reducing the DPS is estimated as follows.

These costings do not take account of changes in demographics, eligibility (e.g., changes in the number of medical card holders), or claimant behaviour arising from the DPS reduction.

The DPS significantly reduces the cost burden for people with ongoing expenditure on medicines. Consideration of further changes to the DPS threshold will be made in the context of current healthcare priorities and the budget available.