Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Martin for raising this issue and I appreciate that there is cross-party interest in it. The Deputy made reference to Vera Twomey and her daughter Ava. I am very familiar with their case and have attended meetings on this issue with the Minister for Health and colleagues of Deputies Martin and Gino Kenny. There are two distinct issues at play here, as Deputy Martin has outlined. There is the issue of medical cannabis which has the component THC and is available under the ministerial licence system. It is my understanding that up to 12 families have been approved under that system to date. There is also the parallel issue of a medicinal cannabis access programme. The process of setting up such a programme is under way in the Department. Departmental officials recently visited Denmark to see at first hand how the process there works. We are looking at best international practice in this area to make sure that any actions we take are appropriate, consistent and medically informed in the best interests of those families who have an interest in this. We are, in many respects, breaking new ground in this country. A limited number of families have access to the product containing THC and I do not believe that any consultant led application for such access has been refused. That said, I appreciate that there is a second part to this issue and the Department is currently considering how best to progress in that regard. This involves looking at international best practice and there has been engagement with stakeholders in other jurisdictions on the matter.

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