Dr. Ambrose McLoughlin:

A Secretary General must always address the etiological factor, or cause of the problem; addressing the symptoms and signs of the problem will not suffice. What the Government has decided to do is a matter for it. What the Department is doing in support of the Government is ensuring that this legislation is brought forward as quickly as possible. Experts such as Professor Michael Barry and others believe we need to ensure we have the most cost-effective options available to both public and private patients. This is very difficult. I am very appreciative of the fact that the pharmaceutical industry is worth €40 billion to the State. There are 25,000 people employed directly in the sector and over 100,000 people employed indirectly. Therefore, we must work through the issues in a sensitive way. It is very important to have a good relationship with those in the industry. Ireland has 33 oncologists, 25 of whom have been trained in the top centres in the world. We must protect the clinical research and clinical trial programmes. We want to work with the Department and sector such that we can protect the best interests of the Irish economy, citizens and patients while maintaining the sentiment of the pharmaceutical industry.