asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce a scheme, analogous to that for the supply of insulin to diabetics, for the supply of corticosteroids to those suffering from chronic diseases, on the production of a certificate from their family doctor that no other treatment is suitable.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Supply of Corticosteroids.
35.
I do not propose to introduce such a scheme. A person in the lower income group may obtain supplies of corticosteroids free of charge in the normal way. Any person outside this group who finds the cost of purchasing supplies of this drug a hardship should apply to the health authority. They are empowered to help him in this matter. As was indicated in the White Paper on the Health Services and their Further Development, it is my intention to provide for assistance to a person in the middle income group whose expenditure in a fixed period on drugs and medicines prescribed by a doctor exceeds a certain sum.