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

On a somewhat happier note, I have been working for some time with the Minister, Deputy Harris, on an application for the importation of medicinal cannabis on behalf of Ava Barry. The Minister has confirmed last evening that this has been sanctioned. I pay tribute to the courage of Ava's mother, Vera Twomey. As Deputies will be aware, Ava has gone to the Netherlands and is under the care of a Dutch neurologist who has been monitoring the application of CBD-THC in relation to Ava for quite some time. That work, combined with the efforts of doctors in Ireland, has resulted in a successful application. The Minister has in a broader context committed to a rapid-access programme.

My understanding is the rapid access programme will not include the utilisation of CBD-THC to treat drug-resistant epilepsy. In the light of this development, I ask the Minister to give this matter consideration as he rolls out the rapid access programme. Will he give an indication of the timeline for the programme? In Canada a clinical trial on the application of CBD-THC for children with Dravet syndrome and drug-resistant epilepsy is under way under an Irish neurologist.

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