Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak about this extremely important issue which has been brought to light in the last year by a very brave Cork woman, Vera Twomey. She highlighted the problems facing her young daughter, Ava Barry, who was suffering from a severe form of epilepsy, Dravet syndrome. She has seizures numerous times a day, but these seizures can be reduced significantly by the administration of medicinal cannabis. She is now living in the Netherlands where she is able to receive the appropriate medical help and her seizures have stopped. Vera has described this as "life-saving". However, Ava is unable to return home as she cannot legally obtain the necessary cannabis based treatment here. This is yet another failure on the part of the health system. Why are we, as a nation, shamefully shipping people out of the country in pursuit of simple cures which could easily be available here? Ava's case is but one example. Another is that of John Patrick Harrington who had to travel abroad to undergo a simple cataract operation. Why can we not deal with our own health issues here rather than exporting them?

I am aware that certain provisions of the Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 are unclear and that there are numerous technical issues with the legislation, including unintended legal implications, as highlighted by the Joint Committee on Health. I note the findings of the report on the scrutiny of the legislation. The report's authors are fearful that the Bill which proposes the removal of cannabis from the list of controlled substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 could have major unintended policy consequences such as decriminalising cannabis for recreational use, of which I am not in favour.

However, I do not accept the committee report outcome that the Bill should not advance to the next Stage because there are too many technicalities and problems facing the legislation in its current form. I seek that the Bill would go forward to Committee Stage and any relevant issues and amendments be addressed at that point, and Deputy Kenny has said he accepts this. The issue at hand is far too important, not only for young Ava Barry and her mother, Vera, who have faced this nightmare for years, but for all the people affected by this type of epilepsy, severe migraines and many other illnesses. I am sure all the relevant changes to the legislation to allow only sick patients obtain the necessary CBD can be addressed on Committee Stage.

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