Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will move to the clinical trials but, before I do so, I will make a point about the barriers for people in areas of deprivation or in low-income households to go to a GP, at a very low level, to get checked if they are feeling unhappy. In my area in particular, and other Deputies represent areas of deprivation, getting an appointment for a GP, even if people have the money, is very difficult. They have to wait several weeks and often in cases where their efforts to get an appointment are so thwarted, people do not attend. Even if people have the money, sometimes they cannot go to a GP.

I will move to the issue of clinical trials. As it is not an issue we have talked about much during this session, I will give our guests some time. I noted that the Department's briefing note for the meeting cited some of the genetic issues as a success story. Our guests, however, are saying that we have very low rates of participation in clinical trials, if I am reading the situation correctly. I am also watching, at an EU level, the issue around rare diseases and orphan drugs going through. I am concerned that the law might not be working in the way we want it to and genetic therapies, in particular, might not qualify for the extension for pharmaceutical companies. Perhaps our guests could take the time available to outline where the shortfalls lie in getting people onto clinical trials.

Are we doing enough in terms of dealing with stakeholders, particularly in the area of genetics? What actions is Ireland taking in the EU, particularly on the rare diseases issue? Are we pushing hard enough? We have a huge pharma industry here and I presume those companies really want this to work well.