Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Some 300,000 Irish people are affected by rare diseases. They comprise one of the largest health groupings in the country. I welcome the fact that the Bill is attempting to deal with access to drugs, which is a major issue for those people. As has been mentioned, we have seen people having to campaign for Orkambi and Spinraza and now from pembro. It is unfortunate that the Minister is not present. He has to commit tonight that women will have access this week to pembro on an equal basis before Christmas. Women will die if it is left until the new year. We all know it will be several weeks later if it is left until the new year. Lives are literally at risk. We passed emergency laws here one night for the banks. This can be done for the affected women. We have heard the Taoiseach saying it will happen but there is a time impediment. A date must be set. I commend Vicky Phelan on giving of her time for the other women affected.

It would be wrong for us not to bring the drug companies into the equation. What an indictment of capitalism and the system that people suffer and die because vital drugs and treatment are out of their reach because private drug companies profit and thrive on rarity and need. The CEOs of drug companies were once doctors but now they are businessmen. They are paid seven-figure sums. The CEO of Merck, one of the top ten global pharmaceutical companies and the company that produces pembro, is paid $25 million. The company's revenue is $35 billion. The global pharmaceutical market is worth $1.4 trillion. This is a massive business. The onus is on all the companies to satisfy the shareholders, not help humanity.

A year or so ago, Martin Shkreli told the Financial Timeshis only obligation was to shareholders. He infamously increased the price of the HIV and transplant drug Daraprim from $13.50 per dose to $750, representing a 5,000% increase. That is what these people can do. Nobody has a monopoly on compassion but some have a very strict attachment to an ideology that allows this to happen. Parasites are running these pharmaceutical companies. EpiPens were increased in price by 400%. As has been said, many of these are being produced in this country.

What is the solution? This Bill is making an effort to improve the current situation, which is outrageous given the length of time it takes for people to get a drug trial, a licence and so on. These drug companies should be nationalised and brought under public control. Their research should be shared. They should be forced to open their books to show us what it actually costs to produce the drugs. An antidepressant that Martin Shkreli, who put up the price of the HIV drug, was taking was 17 cent per pill, yet these parasites are allowed to profiteer beyond belief.

When we debated water charges here about three years ago, nobody in the Dáil wanted to privatise water. How could one privatise drug companies? The drugs are life-saving medications that are produced because of the ingenuity of scientists, most of whom want to benefit humanity. We should now consider forcing the companies to share their research. We should examine patent laws. There is an example from South Africa concerning the HIV drug. The companies should be taken under public control and run in the public interest. I do not see why it would be any different from water or anything else. Health should not be a commodity.

The Minister really has to make a commitment. It has been put out on social media that the women will get equal treatment but that is not the case. There is a fear, as expressed by Vicky Phelan, that this will not happen before Christmas. That is untenable for the women involved.

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