John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I draw Members' attention to the 11% of cystic fibrosis sufferers who are being deprived access to a new ground-breaking drug which would significantly improve the quality of their lives. The drug's outrageous price of ¤235,000 per year begs the question of whether the cost of its research and development is being front-loaded onto the people who need it urgently. I ask the Leader to find out from the Minister for Health the net cost of the drug, bearing in mind that the sufferers of cystic fibrosis who availed of it would be less of a burden on the health service. What cost do we as a people put on a life?

On that note, I join other speakers in asking what we are doing, as a Government and a country, on the issue of suicide. When I attended the Donegal people of the year awards the other night, I was told that 12 young people from the county had committed suicide in recent months. Apart from speaking about the issue, as a Government, we have not done anything to address the issue. In regard to drink driving and the issue of rural isolation, I have witnessed cases of single men who cannot go to the pub and whose best friend is a bottle of brandy or Jameson. This can result in the loss of their self-esteem and they might eventually take their own lives. We need to treat suicide as seriously as we treat road safety by appointing somebody like Mr. Noel Brett as head of a national suicide authority to deal with the issue from the ground up.