Results 181-200 of 616 for drugs speaker:Bernard Durkan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Evaluating Orphan Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I am sympathetic to the issue of orphan drugs, particularly where it has been shown that they work and that a patient cohort will benefit from them. The problem, which the committee has discussed many times, is where the determination as to their benefit and safety comes from. Is it made at EU level? There is a vetting system at EU level but, as we found out in this committee a year or so...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Evaluating Orphan Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...torn in all directions. There is one thing missing. I have spoken about it many times. Everybody else has spoken about it today. If I were asked to find out what impact the cost of a particular drug will be on the budget, which is an issue, I would like to find out from the people who know. I would presume I could press a button and find out where the drugs were being used throughout...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Evaluating Orphan Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...us and obtain more beneficial conclusions than us, yet we are waiting for the situation to improve elsewhere instead of going to the top, availing of the best possible price for the most effective drugs and working from there.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Evaluating Orphan Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2018)

Bernard Durkan: The Australian Government represents 22 million people. The European Union, of which we are a member state, represents 500 million people. If I were a drug manufacturer selling into a market, I would want to do a deal with the one containing 500 million people at all costs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I apologise for interrupting. That is a departure from the manner in which new drugs are examined, where, even though we have the EU level for examining and approving new drugs, we also do it ourselves, and we raise questions at that time. I do not accept that what has been put forward is an adequate answer. While I not blaming Dr. Henry, it is a fact.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I am concerned about that. There is an inconsistency. On the one hand, we are particularly careful and we double-check in respect of drugs, as we should do in most cases, even though the same check has already been done by the European institutions, where we are also represented, incidentally. On the other hand, we do not seem to apply the same principles regarding staff and their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: .... I am somewhat concerned about some of the answers. It is bad budgeting practice to repeatedly fall short of the target on either side, unless there is some serious explanation. Take the PCRS. Drug costs can and will impact. We need a counterbalance such as a reduction in the costs through the things this committee has discussed so many times, such as the power of European Union as a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Is it true that some drug companies are offering similar drugs at a fairly substantially reduced cost to the public health sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Overspend on the Health Budget 2018: Discussion (24 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...-balancing in a positive way the expenditure on health. Somebody needs to tell us what the situation is, instead of making excuses and saying this is the cause of all our problems. It is not. Drugs are an issue that needs to be dealt with effectively now. On the question on the State Claims Agency claims, I do not accept the notion that we cannot compare like with like in that...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Organised Crime (17 Oct 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...Minister for Justice and Equality the degree to which An Garda Síochána has direct access to Interpol and Europol in connection with its efforts to combat internationally organised crime, including drug related crime; if the necessary resources are readily available in these circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42725/18]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Supply (28 Jun 2018)

Bernard Durkan: 230. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which use of the single European market can be identified as a means of alleviating the impact of persons faced with the high cost of experimental drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28592/18]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Pharmaceutical Sector (29 May 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...Minister for Health the extent to which the use of the single European market can be identified as a means of alleviating the impact of persons currently faced with the high cost of experimental drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23779/18]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Business of Joint Committee
Foetal Anti-Convulsant Syndrome: Discussion (25 Apr 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...and the effect this matter has had on individuals and their families. Which country first identified the seriousness of the risks involved? There appears to have been strong support for the drug in Scandinavian countries, but I am not sure whether that remains the case. The drug is still recommended and used in Iceland. I know that it was used or used in combination with something else...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals on Health Technology Assessment (28 Mar 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...Irish pharmaceutical manufacturers in terms of their access, remuneration or whatever the case may be? There is no sense in introducing something that does not deal with the entire spectrum of drugs. Given that orphan drugs, for example, are not going to be part of the parcel at this stage, one has to ask why they cannot be and when that can happen. That is one of the issues we...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Misuse of Drugs (22 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: 207. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her attention has been drawn to evidence of dependency of prescription or other drugs among children and youth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9242/18]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of the Sláintecare Report (Resumed) (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...possible quality of service. Back in the old days, pharmacists had a different role. They were effectively GPs and regarded as such. Over time that has changed and they are now dispensing drugs on prescription and so on. Is there a need for a re-evaluation of their role to give them an opportunity to participate more actively in the delivery of services to the community?

Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (8 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...was a dry house until the next time it was available. In the United States the underground industry became huge, with massive consequences. When Prohibition was lifted, and this applies to other drugs as well, drink usage increased by 4,500%. It is a sobering thought - no pun intended. People tell us today with regard to other drugs that if the ban was lifted and all drugs were readily...

Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (8 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: ...be some type of order in the way alcohol is consumed, how people are educated on its use and how warning signs must be taken on board. Other speakers have referred to the use of alcohol and other drugs. It is often the case that more than one substance is used at the same time. This leads to dysfunctionality and the result is a serious problem for society. Over the years all Members...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medicinal Products Prices (8 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: 230. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which Ireland can receive the full benefit of the Single Market in respect of the cost and sourcing of all drugs, including those recently developed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6624/18]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2017: Discussion (6 Dec 2017)

Bernard Durkan: ...free and extensive amounts of samples are provided to a practitioner. I ask without meaning to get at GPs. It is possible that a person could circumnavigate the rules in that fashion. Maybe the drug companies or manufacturers of certain equipment may make a contra deal whereby it appears that the donor owed the recipient for implied services.