Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to share some of my time to have allowed the Deputy to get in his last few words. He is correct in what he said. We must move away from the practice of saying why we are not doing a particular aspect of work. There is no denying that action on this issue is included in the programme for Government. As Minister of State, it is something I would like to see commencing, for all the reasons the Deputy outlined. First and foremost, orphan drugs make a significant difference to the lives of individuals. Second, what we all should be about is ensuring longevity for people. The fact we have access to these drugs in this country makes the current situation unbelievable.

Having said that, the Deputy will be interested to know that as of the start of May, the €30 million provision that was allocated in budget 2020 has enabled the HSE to approve 24 new medicines. The executive's robust assessment process and commercial engagement ensured as many new medicines as possible were made available to Irish patients in that period. This shows it was possible to access the budget quickly. I would love if my budget for disability services could be spent in June or July each year. The speed of expenditure in this case shows the great need in respect of orphan drugs and in terms of bringing more medicines on stream, which has a great benefit for the wider population. I will take the Deputy's remarks back to the Minister, who sends his apologies for not being able to be here this evening.

May I ask the Ceann Comhairle's indulgence to speak for a further 30 seconds?

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