Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to raise the issue of rare diseases and orphan drugs. This is an issue which the Taoiseach would have a lot of experience of, having served as Minister for Health and given his engagement with the Orkambi case. Today, Senator Malcolm Byrne, Senator Fiona O'Loughlin and I launched our Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) (Amendment) Bill 2021, which is essentially a replication of former Deputy John Brassil’s work in the previous Dáil. The Taoiseach is well aware of the issue that, on average, people are waiting up to 1,000 days to get an orphan drug approved for reimbursement. It is generally acknowledged that the process is not working, is not fit for purpose and needs to be looked at. I ask that this legislation would be given priority in the months ahead.

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