Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Taoiseach on the Joycean stream of consciousness we were just privileged to witness.

There have been numerous issues with new drug technologies and medicines coming on stream. We have had one row after another. One of the issues is the lack of ring-fenced funding to enable decisions to be taken with one eye on the current health budget. The most recent case concerns malignant melanoma, for example.

New technology has developed a combination drug made of nivolumab and ipilimumab. This combination has had a dramatic impact on lengthening the lifespan of people with malignant melanoma. Despite this, along with Portugal, we are the only country in the European Union that has not made it available for financial recoupment for patients. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England has worked with remarkable speed to approve this combination drug. There are approximately 150 people per year with progressive melanoma.

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