Mr. Kevin Warren:

To add to what Mr. O'Connor said, the amendment Bill aims to strengthen what we are trying to do to oblige people involved in the supply chain to inform us of any shortages that occur in order that a timeliness will be attached and we can plan and mitigate that. In addition, the medicine substitution protocol, which was part of the earlier stage, is another piece of that jigsaw.

There is a complex journey for medicines to get to the patient, and we are putting together the blocks to ensure Ireland is not regarded as an outlier and does not have to take a place in the queue. That is part of it, and the conversations we have at European meetings assist in that when we are discussing it with colleagues from other countries. We are fully engaged with it to ensure we will get our fair share and will not be left lagging behind in any fashion, because we regard that as crucial as well.