Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand from the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, that people may apply to him for a licence under the Misuse of Drugs Acts 1977 to 2016 and the regulations and orders made thereunder. Guidance on who may apply for a licence under the Misuse of Drugs Acts, as well as instructions on how to apply, can be found on the website of the Department of Health. To date, ministerial licences have been issued for the treatment of nine patients on receipt of valid licence applications from their clinicians.

On the medicinal cannabis access programme, Department of Health officials are working intensively on the issue to ensure supply of appropriate medicinal cannabis products from other EU member states and further afield to meet the need of patients. However, the Department has no control over business decisions taken by product manufacturers and no powers to compel such companies to supply their products to the Irish market. Until cannabis product producers make their products available in Ireland, it will be a matter for the prescribing doctor and the patient to source the prescribed medical cannabis product. Clearly, that is unsatisfactory. However, it is understood patients who have been prescribed such products under ministerial licence have been able to source them from a pharmacy in the Netherlands.

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