Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am also very familiar with the work of Debra Ireland. The HTA process is not just protracted, as Deputy O'Sullivan points out. In 2011, I authored the Irish Platform for Patients Organisations report, which referred to a black hole in decision-making at the end of the process. We have to find a way of striking a balance between value for the taxpayer, which we should pursue without continuously saying "Yes" to pharma companies, and not resorting to patients having to advocate in the way that we do. We have to have a more humane version of the HTA process. The drugs that are put through that process have to be more available to patients while, at the same time, we seek to secure the best value for money for the taxpayer.

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