Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

We must consider these matters in the context of the overall cost of the drugs budget. We spend about 16% of the health budget on drugs, which amounts to almost €2 billion. By any standard, that is a very high proportion and it is not sustainable into the future. That is why there is an onus on all of us to ensure we get better value for money in terms of drug costs. We all want to see new and effective drugs coming onto the market as quickly as possible. The HSE estimates that if we were to approve new drugs that are clinically effective, the cost of providing them could be up to €30 million. There is no new pot of money from which we can take more money for the drugs budget. It is a finite budget and there is no potential for increasing it. I do not need to tell the Deputy the reason there is no new money available. We want to ensure these new drugs can be brought onto the market, but it must be done in the context of reducing the prices of other drugs for which we are paying, many of which are over and above the prices in other countries.

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