Mr. Finian Judge:

The statutory responsibility has been vested in the HSE. The criteria in the Act to which the HSE must adhere have been laid down by the Oireachtas. Different countries have different criteria. For example, the notion of cost-effectiveness could vary quite significantly from one jurisdiction to the next. We have very defined criteria to which we must adhere with regard to our assessment for drugs. We are looking at regional collaborations in Valletta and BeNeLuxA to see how we can collaborate on drug pricing and supply. If one looks at this proposal from the Commission, it could be seen as a first step to try to bring it under one EU roof. It starts with the process of clinical assessment.