Almost 35,000 women got the morning-after pill for free under the medical card scheme during the past three years at a cost of nearly €650,000 to the HSE.

Medical card holders will no longer have to go to their GP for a prescription for the morning-after-pill from July 1, writes Catherine Shanahan.

A Fine Gael TD and Pharmacist says access to the morning-after-pill shouldn't be restricted by its cost.

Women with medical cards should be able to get the morning-after pill directly from a pharmacy free of charge and without a prescription, says the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU).

The Irish Pharmacy Union is claiming the HSE is discriminating against women with medical cards, when it comes to accessing the "morning-after pill".