What's the story with prescription prices?It is hardly surprising that many people feel ripped off by sections of the supposedly caring sector when they find out that the most basic of medicines can cost five times more in Dublin than in Belfast and drugs that can be bought over the counter in Derry need pricey doctor's prescriptions in Donegal.

Aspirin is cheap to manufacture, widely available and can be taken by most people with few negative side-effects. It has become an unlikely wonder drug, playing a vital role in preventing strokes, certain cardiac conditions and in combating deep vein thrombosis for people on long-haul flights.

In recent weeks the high price tag attached to one brand of low-dose aspirin in particular, 75mg Nu-Seal aspirin, manufactured by Alliance Pharmaceuticals in Britain, has prompted several PriceWatch readers to get in touch to accuse the medical and pharmaceutical sectors of greed.

It is only available with a doctor's prescription in the Republic, something that led one reader to write: "A prescription for aspirin sounds like a money-grab by the greedy medics."

Another reader who takes the low-dosage aspirin daily as part of a "healthy heart" regimen said he pays approximately €7.50 a month for a 28-day supply of the medication here and has to visit his doctor once every six months at a cost of €45 to get his repeat prescription renewed. He was shocked when he happened upon bottles of 150 similar tablets selling in a US supermarket for $6.50 (€5) or one-tenth of the price it cost at home when the doctor's visit is factored in.

Pharmacists bear the brunt of consumer anger when price anomalies such as this are made public, and while they certainly play a role in keeping costs high here, they are just one link in the chain. They are not, however, responsible for licensing drugs or setting the wholesale price, nor can they be blamed for GPs prescribing expensive branded drugs when much cheaper off-patent alternatives are available.

According to the pharmacists' representative group, the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU), it "has received numerous complaints from our members over the frustration that their patients experience in not being allowed to purchase Nu-Seal 75mg over the counter in Ireland".

The IPU, which represents 1,600 pharmacists across the State, last week told PriceWatch it believes that patients who have been stabilised on this product for a long period of time "find it inconvenient and costly to return to their GP every time they need a repeat prescription for this product instead of being able to purchase it directly from their pharmacist. The union has urged the manufacturer to consider applying to the Irish Medicines Board (IMB), the regulatory body for the control and dispensing of medicines in the Republic, for a licence to make the product available over the counter."

PriceWatch contacted Alliance Pharmaceuticals last week to find out if it had any plans to apply to the Irish Medicines Board for a licence to take it off prescription.

A spokesman said that it would be very willing to discuss changing the status of the drug with the IMB. "It is a complex decision but we already sell the drug over the counter in other jurisdictions, including the UK, and we would be keen to do anything that would be of benefit to our customers." The spokesman said that its Nu-Seal aspirin had a price tag of £2.60 (€3.85) for 56 tablets in the UK. The spokesman said the prices the company charges wholesalers in Ireland and the UK are "comparable".

The drug's price by the time it reaches the Irish consumer is certainly not comparable, however. It is almost four times as expensive - 28 tablets sell for closer to €7.50 - and that is not even taking into account the cost of visiting a GP once every six months to get a prescription.

We also contacted the IMB to see if it would consider licensing the tablet to make it available over the counter. In a statement it said the reason some aspirin formulations were subject to prescription control was "because of the conditions for which they are indicated. This condition requires diagnosis and management by a medical practitioner."

The campaign to have the low-dose aspirin made available over the counter is just one of several fronts in the IPU's battle to get more dispensing power for its members. It believes such a move will lower costs for the consumer and improve the level of care offered. It has been very vocal in calling for the sale of the morning-after pill over the counter to be legalised here, as it is in the UK. It also wants to bring to an end the system whereby medical card patients currently need a doctor's prescription to obtain over-the-counter medicines free to treat common minor ailments, while patients without a card can get the medicines directly from their local pharmacy. It has made a submission for a "Minor Ailments Scheme" to the Department of Health to address the problem.

While prices for prescription medicines remain high here, there is some good news: the price of prescription drugs could fall by as much as 35 per cent from next year after two separate deals were concluded between the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the pharmaceutical sector over the summer.

Under the new deal, which will take effect from the end of next March, the price of generic drugs in the Republic will, as before, be linked to those in a "basket" of other European countries. Crucially, this basket will now include countries such as Spain, Austria and Belgium, where prices are among the lowest in Europe. For patients who can't wait that long, readers have suggested other sources of cheap drugs, none of which seem particularly desirable. While many turn to the internet, it is an avenue that needs to be taken with extreme caution. "In industrialised countries, internet-based sales of pharmaceuticals remain a major source of counterfeit medicines, threatening those who seek cheaper, stigmatised or unauthorised treatments," is the view of the World Health Organisation. It is also against the law to buy prescription drugs on the web.

Another route suggested by some PriceWatch readers is the drug holiday - trips to countries when expensive medicines are readily available over the counter for a lot less. Such a move could fall foul of customs and excise, however, and is also discouraged by pharmacists, who believe that stockpiling medicines is dangerous. Not only can drugs pass their sell-by date but about 4,000 children were accidentally poisoned last year in Ireland, many of whom stumbled on prescription and over-the-counter medications left unsecured about the home.