John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am throwing into the mix then the biosimilar and I think we are close enough in our thoughts in it. When a drug comes off patent, competition applies. Companies will do their level best to hold on to as much as they can and get as much as they can for it but there is nothing that we should be doing that in any way prevents us from getting the best possible value, and I make no apologies to any company out there, one gets one's opportunity and one makes one's investment and the more profit that one makes that is fine by me. However, when one's patent time is up and there is an opportunity them for the drug to be made elsewhere and better value to be achieved we should be achieving that to the maximum.

If we did, I guarantee that the witnesses would not be sitting there worrying about the few million euro that we need for those important drugs because the HSE would have the money to deal with the matter.