Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise a very difficult issue with the Tánaiste this morning which relates to the overuse of and in some cases addiction to over-the-counter medication, in particular, those medications which contain codeine. The context in which I am raising this is the death of a young 39-year-old woman at Sligo University Hospital just over two weeks ago. That happened because of her addiction to over-the-counter opioid-containing medication. Her name was Laura Newell and her sad and untimely death has been reported in many newspapers. The reason I am raising this with the Tánaiste is that her sister, whom I know, wrote to me and, indeed, to all of the public representatives in the Sligo-Leitrim Constituency, and asked us to raise the issue of dependence on and addiction to over-the-counter painkillers in Ireland. She specifically stated, “I await your response in the hope that my family can rely on you to raise these concerns at the highest level.” She went on to state, “My hope would be that legislation could be put in place that will remove the medicine from behind the counter and be available ... only through consultation with the GP.”

It is a long email and it is heart-breaking because it tells how the 39-year-old woman died painfully from addiction. Her sister names the over-the-counter medication. I will not do so here, but it is a household name. There is nothing extraordinary about Laura Newell’s sad story but her addiction started as a response to the need for pain medication due to undiagnosed endometriosis. In order to try to deal with her pain, she started taking over-the-counter opioid medication. As her sister said, the drugs she was addicted to are legal and easy to obtain. She said that she was buying them from chemists throughout the county and further afield. Recently, she started accessing them online from pharmacies across Ireland. She said that these purchases are unregulated and make it easy for addicts to access opioid medicines. There is much more in it and it is a sad email but the core of this is that her family have decided to be quite candid about her death. As her sister said, if there is to be any sense out of her loss, it would be the prevention of any other family going through this experience.

In that context I am asking the Tánaiste if his Government will consider two things - to review the legislation and regulation around the sale of over-the-counter painkillers containing codeine and to look at the whole issue of pain management. It is not just enough to put regulation in place. We must also help people to deal with the issue of pain and chronic pain, which is a very significant concern for people all over the country. I can guarantee the Tánaiste that there are people sitting here in this Chamber today who know what that is. This is a big issue and I would like to hear a considered response from the Tánaiste.

See this speech in context