Vol. 526 No. 6
285 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will address the differential in price whereby the cost of 28 generic 75 mg aspirin tablets here is £4.77 and the same product costs 99p over the counter in a pharmacy in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27590/00]
The price of drugs and medicines, ex-manufacture, in Ireland has been subject to control since 1972 through the mechanism of formal multi-annual agreements with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association – formerly the Federation of Irish Chemical Industries – which provides that the maximum price to the wholesaler of any new item of medicine introduced to the market and covered by the agreement shall not, on the date of notification, exceed the currency adjusted UK wholesale price or the average of a basket of EU countries, whichever is the lower. Accordingly, Irish prices for the ingredient cost of prescription medicines are generally in line with prices in the UK. A price freeze is also in place in regard to the prices charged for existing products.
Some discrepancies exist between the prices of individual products in Ireland and the UK, particularly in the generic market. These are due in large measure to a vibrant generic market in the UK where the overall market is much larger and where there is significant competition that affects prices charged for generic medicines.
