Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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353. To ask the Minister for Health if he will report on Ireland's bid to host the European Medicines Agency. [50046/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As a consequence of the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) must relocate to another Member State. The EMA plays a vital role in the protection of the health of 500 million EU citizens through the scientific evaluation and safety monitoring of human and veterinary medicines and I believed that Dublin would be an ideal choice for the new host city. The relocation of the EMA represented an opportunity to attract a prestigious EU Agency which directly employs almost 1,000 staff and would attract many more high-quality jobs in associated sectors. The EMA is also key to maintaining the competitiveness of the European pharmaceutical industry, which is worth approximately €260 billion annually.

In October 2016 the Government decided to promote Dublin as a suitable new location for the Agency. The Irish offer, which was developed by a cross-sectoral working group led by my Department, with colleagues from the Department of the Taoiseach and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as representatives from the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), IDA Ireland and other Government Departments, was officially submitted to the European Council and the European Commission on 31 July 2017.

Officials in my Department worked closely with colleagues in the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the strategy and campaign to promote the bid and demonstrate why it was felt Dublin represented a suitable location for the EMA, for Europe and for its citizens.

On 19 November 2017, Ireland's Permanent Representative to the European Union confirmed that Ireland was withdrawing its bid for the European Medicines Agency in order to focus on the offer for the European Banking Authority recognising the political challenge of pursuing two bids concurrently. The decision on the relocation of the agencies was taken by the General Affairs Council on 20 November. The Council chose Amsterdam as the new location for the EMA and I expect that the Netherlands will be a suitable new location for the Agency that will allow it to the greatest extent possible continue its important role in protecting patient safety.