James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

The decision was made within the HSE and the pharmacological unit. I will have to find out for the Deputy precisely which individuals were involved. As the drugs are being made available, nobody will suffer loss as a consequence. The last thing anybody wants to do, or the last thing anybody should do, he or she a doctor, a politician or the Minister for Health, is to play God. That is a not a place I ever want to be in. We have to have a societal answer which involves all of the people mentioned, namely, clinicians, pharmaceutical companies, politicians and members of society at large, as represented by patient groups and others. We are always going to have this issue, especially the question of how drugs are priced. Sometimes one wonders if prices are just plucked out of the air. We all understand research and development are very important and encourage those involved, as we are very mindful of the importance of the pharmaceutical industry in this country. At the same time, however, some of the prices need to be subject to scrutiny. We will be doing this. To answer Deputy Ó Caoláin's question, the drugs reference pricing Bill which will be brought forward before the summer will go a long way towards addressing this issue.

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