Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Generic medicines are a real issue in a certain setting. However, in regard to the new medicines, that cutting-edge technology, I refer back towards 2007 when Interferon cost €5,000 a shot for Ger, at the time. He got it every month for 12 months. That was the kind of expenditure required to actually give Ger the life he had. I argue this is not about generic medicines. This is about the poor people I am talking about, such as the 322 who effectively could be losing their actual potential to get better care and better quality of life, or the thousands involved in another 15 drugs that, if approved, could bring major changes to their lives. These are the people who need special care and attention. Generic medicines will not solve this. Sometimes it can make a huge issue in their lives and change lives, and sometimes it just gives extra time. The one thing they do not have is time. The one thing we need to make sure the Government does here is act appropriately regarding the time issue.