Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their time today and, more broadly, for all the work they do. The advocacy work and the pressure and technical expertise they bring to the table are incredibly valuable. I realise they can feel they are ploughing a lonely furrow for much of the time so I wish to acknowledge all the work they do on behalf of many men, women and children throughout the country. They should keep it up and we will support them in any way we can.

I wish to focus on some of the possible solutions. I keep hearing that Ireland is lagging behind. We signed up to the BeNeLuxA initiative. It agrees on a certain orphan drug yet Ireland does not bring introduce it. I saw data recently that showed we are the last or one of the last countries in the EU to introduce drugs that have been approved across the EU. It is probably not always the case but that is what I hear from the parents of sick children, experts such as the witnesses, clinicians and the pharmaceutical companies. Everybody seems to be saying that Ireland is last or close to last with regard to some of the incredible drugs that are coming through. The witnesses referred to that several times in their statements. Why do the witnesses think we appear to be slower than most of the rest of Europe in giving people access to these drugs? What can we do in real terms to speed up the process?