Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I thank all of the Members who contributed to the debate and thank them for their consideration of, and input into, the legislation. Their points will certainly be taken on board in the progress of this Bill. Senator Byrne offered to sit late and to take all Stages, although his colleague was not in agreement with that earlier. I also acknowledge the offer made by Sentator Cullinane. I too would very much like to see this Bill going through but I agree with the point made by Senator Norris that it is quite complex legislation. It has been promised for a very long time and there has been a lot of pressure surrounding it within the Department. There has been ongoing communication between the Department and the Office of the Attorney General over several months in order to produce this legislation. I wish to pay tribute to the extensive background work that has been done in getting us to this point. There is an understanding that Members would be allowed a reasonable period of time to consider legislation, especially when it is very complex and that is the balance that must be struck. It is safer to take our time on this and to allow time for people to give it adequate consideration.

I wish to reiterate my commitment and that of the Government to maintaining and improving access to medicines for Irish patients. As I have said on a number of occasions, this must be done in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible. The core objective of this Bill is to achieve value for money while maintaining and improving levels of service. I wish to make clear that by cost-effective, I mean paying the most appropriate price for a particular product. There is no longer any justification, if there ever was, for paying a premium for a particular brand of medicine when an equivalent medicine, as assessed by the Irish Medicines Board, IMB, can be supplied at a much more competitive price.