Varadkar: Prescription fee 'too high'

Health Minister Leo Varadkar says prescription charges are too high and a new scheme is needed.

The Minister was speaking at MacGill Summer School on ways to overhaul the health service under the next Government - including introducing Free GP Care for the Under 18s, and refunded GP and dentist visits.

He says negotiations have begun on a new contract to buy medicines.

Minister Varadkar says he wants to bring the cost down.

He said: "It's €144 per month per household and that is very iniquitous, particularly on single-person households where the €144 has to be borne by that one person.

"We also have a prescription fee of €2.50 which I think is too high.

"I saw the sense in the 50c one, but €2.50 has got to a point where it's putting some people off filling up their prescriptions at all, which is a major worry of mine."