A prescription charge of 50 cent per item will be introduced for each item dispensed to medical card holders from October 1st, the Department of Health has confirmed.
The charges will be capped at €10 per family per month and the HSE will put in place a refund system in order to refund families who exceed the €10 monthly ceiling.
Prescription Charges will not apply to children in the care of the HSE who have their own medical card.
Those in the Long Term Illness Scheme, the Drugs Payment Scheme, patients receiving services under the Health (Amendment) Act 1996 and those in the Methadone Treatment Scheme will also be exempt from the charge.
The charge was first announced in the Budget.