Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

My final question is on a matter I raised in the Chamber a number of weeks ago, namely, the cutbacks in funding for new drugs and treatments, in particular cancer treatments. Even Mr. Bernard Gloster recently stated that this issue would result in a significant slowdown in the further development of clinical programmes, which would not be good whatsoever. A cohort of people rely on these new medicines and treatments but cannot get them. The Minister will understand that that is not good at all. In the grand scheme of things, we are talking about a small amount of money in the overall budget, but these drugs are the difference between life and death. I would like the Minister’s comments on this matter.