James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will share time with colleagues and take two and a half minutes for questions and answers.

I wish to express my sympathies and condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the couple of weeks since I last spoke. I wish to raise matter of the drug dexamethasone, which has been mentioned in the past 24 hours. It is a low-dose steroidal treatment that can be used in the treatment of coronavirus and is now being used by the NHS in the UK. It has been described as a major breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus and has been found to cut the risk of death by one third. This existing treatment has been described as a workhorse steroid and is used to fight inflammation in cases of arthritis and asthma. Most medical practitioners are familiar with it and know how to use it. It has been described as being cheap as chips, with an entire course costing as little as €5.

Has this drug been stockpiled by the HSE? Will it be made available to patients here? Will we be sourcing supplies so that we can have this drug in stock in the event of a second wave? It is hoped that more drugs that can be used in the treatment of coronavirus will be found. That one such drug exists is very positive news.

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