Prescription tax ‘could stop sickest from taking medicines’

A PRESCRIPTION tax brought in yesterday could stop the sickest and poorest from taking their medicine, pharmacists warned.

Medical card holders have to pay the 50c levy for every item – up to a maximum of €10 a month – administered through chemists.

Darragh O’Loughlin, president of the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), said pharmacists remain totally opposed to the charges but have been forced to collect them for the Government.