The decision to end State funding of medical blister packs supplied by pharmacies will see elderly people hit with a new monthly bill of up to €50 from January, the Dáil has heard.
Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Finance Pearse Doherty said the move will punish vulnerable people and it will push up their costs even more, including those who have dementia.
"It is not right. It is not fair and it needs to be stopped," he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin responded by saying that "more generally" the Government has done a lot to reduce the cost of medicine and it would look at any situation where a patient faces hardship.
He said there is a difference between phased dispensing of medication and monitored dosing and the latter was never formally funded.
However, he did indicate that the Government would discuss this matter again with the HSE.
Labour Spokesperson on Health Marie Sherlock said that not putting a State-funded blister pack service in place was a "recipe for confusion".
"The failure to put in place state-funded blister pack services is short-sighted and a complete contradiction to the principles of care in the community," she said in a statement.
"This gross inefficiency in the lack of State support for blister packs will hurt the most vulnerable: older people, people with disabilities, and people on social welfare payments who will struggle to afford an additional €50 per month to pay for a blister pack service.
"The minister must urgently intervene to ensure that vulnerable people who are reliant on blister packs can avail of those services this winter.
"There is additional funding of €50m for the Community Pharmacy Agreement next year. It is crucial that some of this additional funding be allocated to vulnerable patient hardship blister pack services."
