Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him, on behalf of all of those we represent, for his investment in this issue. I know he is personally heavily invested in it as I have been following his progress on it for some time now. For what it is worth, he has my support in terms of the approach he is taking. I think it is the right, responsible and sensible approach. I hope he can find a way to ensure that those who need this treatment so badly can get it in a timely fashion. We all know people who suffer from cystic fibrosis. I know many people from my own immediate area, who I would have gone to school with and played with as a child, whose families have lost them to cystic fibrosis. It is a very debilitating and life-limiting condition. We all know about the disease and its impact on our communities.

I have listened very closely not only to the Minister's pursuit of these issues in recent times but also to all sides of the debate. In this House, there are not two sides to the debate. It is rare enough that this type of solidarity breaks out in a Chamber that is, by definition, political but everyone is on the same page on this issue. There may be differing views on the tactical approach but we all want the same outcome. I am glad that the tendency in this country to make emotive issues like this into political footballs has been avoided. We all need to express our solidarity with those who we represent, those who need this drug and their families while also taking a responsible approach. We are not just having a political discourse here. We are being watched very closely, not just by this particular pharmaceutical company but by many others, in terms of our approach to this issue.

The Minister is absolutely right not to be making any political interventions as Minister for Health by dealing directly with the company. That would set a bad precedent. I have every confidence that the HSE has the capacity to deliver a result for the Irish people. To use an appropriate analogy, I would never, in my time as Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, have intervened in an industrial dispute. To do that would be to escalate the situation and that would be to nobody's benefit. I support the Minister's approach and the strategic approach of his Department. We all stand united behind the cause of assisting the Minister to get the right outcome for cystic fibrosis patients in this country.