Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said people should not be buying antigen tests costing €8 each.

The Government this week scrapped plans for a subsidy for antigen tests which would have seen the cost of tests reduced to as little as €2 to €3.

Mr Donnelly said there was no need for the subsidy as different pharmacies and shops had brought the price down themselves.

The Taoiseach told the Dáil yesterday that the subsidy could have cost as much as €500m in six months.

The Irish Independent reported yesterday that while antigen tests are cheaper in some shops, other retailers are selling tests for €8 each.

Speaking in the Seanad this evening, Mr Donnelly said people should not be buying them for €8.

“I saw one piece where somebody said, this hasn’t worked because I found a pharmacy where they were €8. Well, don’t buy them for €8, you know, go buy them somewhere where they’re not €8.

“I wanna make sure that the price goes down further. So we’re continuing to engage to that end,” he said.

He said one in five people in the country are using an antigen test every week.

Mr Donnelly said the initial aim of the subsidy was to make tests more affordable for people.

“I wanted to go further and make sure that they were at a reasonable price because for me, €7 or €8 per test is not affordable for far too many people.”

He said that by shops bringing down prices, the aim of the subsidy has been achieved without spending taxpayers’ money.

“Essentially, the policy objective was for a significant and quick reduction in price and that has been achieved without having to deploy public money,” he added.