Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is fine. It has been put to me by a number of people that Ireland is slower than other countries at getting drugs to the market, for whatever reason. What is being put to me, fairly or unfairly, is that the NCPE moves pretty quickly and is transparent in what it does - whether one agrees or not with the full process that is what happens - and that the EMA at a European level is pretty good and is tipping along but when it comes to the Department of Health and the HSE the process slows. I am not making that allegation. It has been represented to me by numerous groups that at Department of Health and HSE level the process becomes opaque and there is not the level of interaction that people are looking for. Is it fair or accurate that the process slows once it reaches Ireland and, if so, what three actions can we take to make it more transparent and quicker?