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

I thank the Deputy. We will all acknowledge that Epilim is a very effective medicine in controlling epilepsy but, of course, if anyone is pregnant, they need to be made aware of any risks when it comes to any medicine they may take and what risks may affect their child. It is always a difficulty when treating pregnant women that the medicine they often need to control their condition can potentially have a negative impact on the child they are carrying. That makes it a difficult call to make. It is really important that the decision is not just made by the doctor and that the patient is fully informed as to what the risks and benefits are in continuing the medicine and what the alternatives are, and that should happen if it is not happening.

I will come back to the Deputy on the issues around the recruitment of staff and the stakeholder group. Certainly, it is the case that we could have a stakeholder group at the same time as an inquiry, and it is not that one would prevent the other.

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