Ms Ava Battles:

I will pick Deputy O'Connell up on that. I understand her point and I will answer generally. The issue is not known about. The Deputy talks about the need for a campaign, but who will pay for it? From our point of view, as an organisation representing those affected by MS, we could talk about the importance of taking vitamin D, for example. Again, though, we are trying to provide a range of services, we are fundraising to provide those services and then there needs to be an awareness campaign. There is the difficulty as to who will provide the funding for the awareness campaign the Deputy speaks about and how we resource getting the GPs and the pharmacists to take on board what we say. Now one has to pay an external company to get one's leaflet into a GP surgery. I do not disagree with what the Deputy says; I am just asking how we could manage to do it when we already have to try to provide a service directly to people.

The Deputy also mentioned Orkambi and the discussion surrounding it not being as clinical and cold as it used to be. I agree with her from the point of view of the fact that in the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics process one can now make what we call a patient submission. This is very positive and very welcomed by our community in that we are not just down to a quality-adjusted life year valued at €44,000. What in the name of God does that mean to anyone? From our perspective, therefore, the fact that we can make representations on behalf of the people who will be using these drugs is very positive.

To respond to the Deputy's point about the medical card, yes, it is absolutely ridiculous that people who have been diagnosed with a condition and who already have to get their head around any such diagnosis, no matter what the condition is, sometimes have to fight for their medication, for access to whatever it is that would make their lives better. I cannot say anything to the Deputy other than that it is ridiculous and it should not be that way. People should have access to whatever it is they need for-----