Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming today. There are a couple of specific topics I wish to deal with, with one having been discussed already. The drugs and medicines bills is one of the biggest items of expenditure. The EU and IMF, as part of the troika, is looking to examine this issue, and the use of generics, because the HSE is spending 17% of its budget on medicines, which is double the percentage in the UK. Many of the items cost more than 50% more than the European average. As an example, Zyprexa is used to combat schizophrenia; it is €99.89 in Ireland but the generic version is available in the UK for €4. The Irish version is approximately 25 times that price.

Everybody in the HSE, the community at large and at the EU, Government and IMF level knows we pay too much for medicine. How are these prices arrived at? Who from the HSE sits in with the senior executive from international drug companies to decide pricing? Will the witnesses describe such a meeting and the level of people representing the Irish taxpayer at that meeting? Who would be on the other side of the table? Would they be senior sales people from companies, many of whose turnover would be bigger than Ireland's GNP? I want to be assured that there is a balance of strength at the table. Who are these people and what are their grades? From where would they come and what would be their commercial experience in dealing with the biggest multinationals in the world? How are these prices set in meetings with representatives of the manufacturers?