Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is absolutely right that time is of the essence. If a woman is eight or nine weeks pregnant and is extremely sick, the last thing she wants to do is to get up and try to make a consultant appointment. Cariban, which is regarded as a beneficial treatment for hyperemesis, does not have a marketing authorisation from the European Medicines Agency or the Health Products Regulatory Authority and, therefore, cannot be added to the formal reimbursement list under the 2013 Health Act. I assume that is the reason women have to make a consultant appointment to access it. Of the €69.2 million in funding allocated for women’s health in budget 2023, €1 million is for the unlicensed medicine Cariban. As with the Minister for Health, I am hopeful that this medicine will make a meaningful difference to the well-being of pregnant women. There could be an opportunity for pregnant women to access the drug when they go for their regular check-ups and scans in a maternity hospital, without having to see a consultant privately. Perhaps that could be looked at and streamlined. I will certainly raise the issue with the Minister. By allocating the €1 million for Cariban in 2023, we can ensure that pregnant women who were not previously able to get Cariban can now access it. However, there seems to be one small barrier that we need to overcome. I will certainly raise the matter with the Minister. I thank the Deputy for bringing it to the House.

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