Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this and I compliment Deputy Gino Kenny for tabling the Bill. It is timely and it can be accepted before being amended and improved if there is concern about some elements of the Bill. Fianna Fáil supports the overall principle of the Bill. The Minister has indicated the HPRA will revert with an expert opinion on the issue of medicinal cannabis.

There is no doubt that many families believe through experience that suffering can be alleviated by medicinal cannabis. While we may not yet have the required expert medical opinion from the HPRA, we must acknowledge that there are many in the State who are using medicinal cannabis to alleviate suffering. We certainly do not want them to be criminalised or potentially criminalised and the Bill addresses that issue.

I am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health. When Ms Vera Twomey addressed it this week, she outlined her experience with her daughter, Ava. She presented very brave testimony on the subject. We also heard testimony from Dr. Colin Doherty, a neurologist. It was very impressive to hear the views of a person who had spent years trying to find medication that would alleviate the suffering of her daughter. She told the committee about all that she had to go through to try to find something that would help Ava. It is also noteworthy that the eminent consultant Dr. Colin Doherty stated that in the case of epilepsy medicinal cannabis had huge potential. That said, I accept that all of this must be done with the best scientific supporting data available in the context of bringing forward regulations to allow medicinal cannabis to be made available. I do not believe it should be treated differently from any other medicinal product. It should be assessed by a regulatory authority and go through proper due diligence like any other medication. If it is found to be safe and effective in addressing various illnesses and diseases and alleviating suffering, it should be made available on prescription from clinicians and physicians and dispensed accordingly.

We support the principle of the Bill, but there are elements of it about which I have expressed concern. The Minister has said he supports the spirit of the Bill, but I hope he will not use Standing Order 179(2) to push it down a side junction. The Government has acknowledged that there could be some cost implications for the State, but I ask the Minister not to use the aforementioned Standing Order to stall the Bill's progress. Many people are waiting in hope and expectation that we can progress the Bill in conjunction with the best advice available from the HPRA to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health which is discussing it and the Minister.

I compliment Ms Twomey and Deputy Gino Kenny. I also compliment the Minister and his Department on being open-minded on the issue. We can have a broad ranging debate on Committee Stage, amend the Bill and assess the advice of the expert groups, from whom the Minister has requested information. Fianna Fáil supports the principle of the Bill and hope it can make its way through the legislative process and, at the end of the day, alleviate the suffering of the many people for whom other medicines are ineffective.

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