Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome everyone this morning. I will stick to what I spoke to the Irish Cancer Society about previously, particularly the area of drugs and reimbursement. I have been on this train for a while when it comes to raising this issue. First, I acknowledge there has been progress in recent years. While we are getting money allocated to new drugs, the process of reimbursing drugs, particularly orphan drugs, is still painfully slow. When we are talking about cancer, the treatments are becoming so specific and targeted that virtually every drug - not every drug that comes to the market, but a high proportion of them - will be an orphan drug into the future because they are so targeted and the patient cohorts are so limited. I know the witnesses all know that. In recent weeks, we have spoken with Professor Michael Barry, the Irish Cancer Society and now the HSE. Does the HSE believe the reimbursement process is fit for purpose?