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

I am afraid I cannot give the Deputy any information on the approval of that particular drug. As Members know, which drugs are licensed, which drugs are prescribed and which drugs are reimbursed are not political decisions, nor should they be. For very good reasons they have been taken out of the political process. So far this year the HSE has approved 23 new medicines. That is done based on the efficacy of the medicine and whether the cost matches the benefits.

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