The Health Minister Leo Varadkar has given a deadline to pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices they charge the state.

In an interview with the Sunday Business Post, the Minister said drug manufacturers will have to agree to cut their prices by June, or else he'll use existing legislation to force a reduction.

"Essentially what we’re saying is if we can’t have an agreement  by June that we’ll then use the legislation,” Varadkar told the Sunday Business Post.

Currently, the state spends nearly €2bn annually on medicines.

But the government has been criticised for not driving a harder bargain with pharma multi-nationals, many of whom have manufacturing bases here.