Vulnerable people and families are now being charged up to €15 for blister packs. Medical cardholders, people on fixed incomes, sick people and people with disabilities must now pay this additional charge. As the Minister knows, there is a cost-of-living crisis and these groups are already under severe financial pressure, being hammered by increases across the board. Food costs over the past five years have spiralled out of control. Butter is up 42%, milk 43%, cheese 28%, chicken 33% and diced beef 48%, not to mention huge increases in gas and electricity prices as well as petrol, diesel and home heating oil. For low- and middle-income families, this charge is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. This service should and must be State-funded. It is a small ask in the bigger scheme of things. I ask the Minister to make sure the blister pack service will be State-funded.

This is an issue that my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has been actively pursuing. She is engaging in particular with the pharmacy associations. It has been the case that there were different charges being applied in terms of dispensing and the overall blister packs themselves. An unequal approach was being taken, depending on the pharmacy and its approach. The work the Minister is doing is to make sure there is parity and that people are not being charged on the double or triple or beyond what they should be because we know that is not the case through certain pharmacies. I will relay the Deputy's concerns directly to the Minister and ask her to give him a direct update as to where things are at now. I am not sure it is fully resolved but I know she is working to resolve this issue more broadly.