Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. When it was raised with me recently, I committed to reaching out to some of the doctors and oncologists concerned who have voiced views on this as I would like to hear from them directly. We have allocated significant resources for additional new medicines in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and this has seen the introduction of 61 new cancer medicines. A further €30 million is available this year. The total spend on cancer drugs in the past three years is now over €600 million. This year the HSE will launch an application tracker to increase transparency in the medicines assessment process. I will get the Deputy a direct update on the matter.

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