Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry Senator Norris, but it does not cut it with me to be that flippant about people who are in chronic excruciating pain. I want to leave the space there. Anybody can make a mistake, anybody can make a decision, and I know there are huge decisions to be made in the HSE and in the Department of Health but surely when new information comes to light and when the information of the thousands of people who have been contacting public representatives comes to light, the Minister could say he will review it and we revert to the decision. I am not looking to hang anybody out to dry. I am looking to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. These people do not have options. I know from talking to fibromyalgia patients that the other options are not there. It is not a case of I can take another medication that is effective. These people would not be doing that if they were not in such pain. When the Minister says that the number of appeals is not a significant amount, that is because many of these people cannot get out of bed to go to request the GP make the appeals. Many of these people do not want to burden their doctors. They know their doctors do not have the 90 minutes that is needed to do this. I can give the Minister of State dozens of personal testimonies. I ask the Minister of State to please go back and do the right thing. It is never too late to do the right thing. The right thing must be done by these patients.