Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I support Senator Norris in his call for a debate on health as quickly as possible. We are fully aware of the problems in the health service. We hear about them every day in the media. However, the health service reached a new low as the HSE initiated measures to restrict the availability of drugs to Irish patients due to their costs. This is new and dangerous. The Minister and the HSE based this new tactic on a British model treated with derision throughout Europe, yet here we are following it.

An eminent cancer specialist in St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin stated one of his patients was refused an approved treatment because of the cost of the drugs. We were accustomed to obtaining the best possible drugs under the GMS scheme. This new model adopted mimics the British system already proven a failure. If a drug suitable for treatment for a cancer patient is denied due to its cost, it is time for the Minister to consider her position.