Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

My concern is that we continue to be very clear in our guidelines that the objective is to prevent transmission of the virus, and that everything is understood and explained on that basis. We should not broker a deal on some basis that is self-evidently not anchored in science. That is my concern, but I will await the emergence of the final guidelines.

I want to ask the Minister about the availability of a vaccine, should one become available. Costa Rica has an initiative whereby when a vaccine is discovered, please God, the intellectual property, IP, would be universally owned. It is supported by about 35 countries, though I have not checked recently whether it is supported by Ireland. Under this initiative, every pharmaceutical company in the world would be able to immediately produce the vaccine and distribute it in the widest possible way. As regards our own legislative position, what legal powers does the Minister for Health have to require a compulsory medicines licence? I have checked to see what the specific powers are and while there are some in the Patents Act 1992 that would allow for it, they are very restrictive. The patent has to be in existence for at least three years and there are other restrictions involved as well. Has the Minister looked at this with a view to ensuring that, should a vaccine become available, it is compulsorily licensed here so that it is not the property of one individual company? Many companies have already said that if they discover one they will create a public IP for the public good but we cannot guarantee that the company with the best vaccine will do so.

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