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

I will need to double-check on the high-tech drugs. My understanding is that anybody who is receiving them will continue to do so. I will double-check on that. We have a serious issue with medicine shortages across the world at the moment; production just has not kept up with demand. It is not unique to Ireland; it is very much a European and international problem. It has always been a bit of a problem but I have never seen it this bad. The industry needs to ramp up production. In almost all cases, it can be resolved. It might mean using a different brand than people are used to or different doses. In almost all cases a solution can be found. However, it needs doctors and pharmacists working together and reassuring patients that the different dose, different frequency or the different brand is still the same active medicine.

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