Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I believe that this would help, and the reason I say that is because it would remove the potential for the public or individuals to have a view that there are conflicts. There is no doubt that as we look into the future, we will see much more international co-operation in terms of clinicians travelling abroad to conferences, being peer-reviewed across the globe and interacting with colleges in other countries. Much of this will be funded by medical companies, pharmaceutical companies and medical device companies. There is nothing wrong with that. It is part and parcel of how we have evolved in terms of research and innovation. Many of the most wonderful drugs, equipment and devices which save and change lives have been developed through that process. It works very effectively. The problem is the transparency element. As more and more drugs come on the market across the globe, companies are obligated, because of the advances to fund greater amounts of medical devices, medicines and equipment, to adjust to transparency. In the longer term, it would be good for all individuals involved in the provision of health care to be obliged to declare that everybody will be on an equal footing. If a number of clinicians get on a plane and go abroad, and some are declaring and some are not, that can lead to immediate suspicions, whereas if everyone on the plane has declared, all those issues are resolved.