Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue relating to an article in the Sunday Business Postover the weekend by Susan Mitchell about the over-prescribing and the major increase in the past ten years in the use of certain drugs. The number of people using one drug, Lyrica, has gone up from 54,981 to 652,013. That is more than a 1,086% increase. Use of another drug, OxyContin, an opiate, has gone up from 47,262 to 122,000. That is a 159% increase. Use of Lexapro has gone up by 232% from 198,000 to 631,000 people.

It seems there has been an extraordinary increase in the prescribing of drugs across the board during the past ten years. This raises serious issues. Is it causing, and will it cause, problems in our health care service? What can we do to work with our general practitioners and medical care professionals in order that people are aware of the consequences of over-use of drugs and medication? That is something we need to have a serious debate on. It is a costly issue.

Tomorrow, the Joint Committee on Health will deal with a report on the availability of orphan drugs. As people are aware, orphan drugs are extremely expensive because they are used only by a small group of people. Here, many drugs are being used up at an extraordinary cost to the State. Simultaneously, we cannot afford to buy drugs for people who really need them. I am not saying that people who are using these drugs do not require them, but there must be a question mark over the extent of the usage and of the prescribing. The matter is worthy of a debate on what is the best way forward to deal with this issue from a health care point of view. It would be appropriate for the Minister to come before the House to discuss the matter. I appeal to the Leader to give serious consideration to my request.