Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach. I thank all of the witnesses for the information they have provided thus far. I have three questions to ask. What are the numbers of patients or individuals nationally who are availing of the MCAP treatment? I am aware that there are three qualifying conditions at the moment. Is the opportunity there to widen the conditions that qualify a patient for inclusion in the MCAP?

I am aware of a constituent in Clare who has a rare condition and is in the care of a consultant but has not been afforded the opportunity to be included in the MCAP. Instead, this patient has now spent several years going through various types of medical treatment that had adverse side-effects but did not resolve the matter. It did not have any kind of positive impact on the condition. Strangely enough, the consultant has not offered the opportunity to be included in the MCAP but wants to start the whole medical treatment again, with the individual prescribed every medication that has already been tried for the past number of years. Are the witnesses aware of such cases occurring and what are their thoughts on why they arise? I am conscious that this patient is based in Clare, so I wonder about an urban-rural divide with this kind of treatment.