Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Taoiseach's remarks that he will work with others, including the Minister in the North. However, the Government does not have a good record in standing up to elites.

I met many people affected by this a number of weeks ago. The one thing that they all have in common is hope - it is probably part of the human condition that in adversity we all have hope. Their hope springs from the possibility that they can access this life-changing drug and, it is to be hoped, newer drugs in the future which can provide a cure. However, there is a pricetag involved and it seems, as someone more eloquent than me once said, we know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Everything is dependent on negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. People do not have the time for that. There is a need for clear information to be given to the families involved, transparency, collaborative negotiations and access to drugs like Orkambi.

Yesterday, one mother, Mrs. Dunphy, told us she had lost one child to cystic fibrosis and does not want to lose another. She held a photograph of a beautiful young woman as she said that. There is a real urgency about the provision of this drug.

I ask the Taoiseach to consider a proposition. Will he give a commitment to the families who are candidates for the drug that they will receive it while negotiations are ongoing, even on a trial basis?

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