OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to assess the average individual’s drug costs prescribed under the main community drug scheme in Ireland over time, by age cohort and by geographical region. It also examined regional costs having standardized for age and sex. METHODS: The 2002 to 2012 average pharmacy payment per eligible person, number of items prescribed per person and the average cost per item prescribed were calculated. The most recent average individual cost of medicines was examined for each of the 4 health regions and 32 sub-regions by 22 age and sex cohorts. Regional age and sex adjustments were made by applying the scheme’s national age and sex weights to each region’s costs. This produced regional cost estimates independent of age and sex variations. RESULTS: Community drug expenditure has undergone substantial growth in the past 10 years with costs more than doubling and the number of persons covered by the main scheme increasing by nearly 60%. Nationally an individual’s average cost of medicines was €713 in 2011, varying from €670 (-6%) in HSE-West to €762 (+7%) in HSE-South. Sub-regional LHO (local health office) cost variances were significantly greater ranging from €200 to €1,200. Average cost increases with age and for persons over 75 was nearly 4 times those aged 35 to 44 (€1,689 versus €446). Removing the impact of age and sex increases cost variances marginally overall, restraining some regions costs and promoting others. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals’ prescription drug costs vary significantly by age and sex however regional cost differences are not explained by variances in age and sex and may be a result of other factors such as prevalence of chronic health conditions and GP prescribing patterns.