I propose to take Questions Nos. 165 to 169, inclusive, together.
The drug payment scheme replaced the drug cost subsidisation and drugs refund schemes, and provided that families only have to meet the first €53.33 a month of spending on approved prescribed medicines. The DCSS threshold was €40.63 a month per individual, and for the DRS it was €114.28 a quarter for each eligible person and dependants. Under the DRS, the person paid for medicines at the pharmacy and claimed a refund from the health board at the end of each quarter. The aggregate financial benefits for patients under the DPS are clearly significantly greater than the old schemes. The total patient benefit under the DRS and the DCSS in 1998 was €95 million, the last full year of operation. In contrast, the DPS subvention to patients was €140 million in 2000, the first full year of operation, and rose to €178 million in 2001, an increase of 87% in three years.