Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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18. To ask the Minister for Health to outline Ireland's position in respect of the European Commission's revision of the general pharmaceutical legislation; if he is concerned about the impact of the proposals on the attractiveness of Ireland as a location for investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23116/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Deputy. The Commission’s aims in revising this legislation are to make medicines more available, accessible, and affordable. It also seeks to support innovation, boost the competitiveness of the EU’s pharmaceutical sector, promote higher environmental standards, and combat antimicrobial resistance .

I fully support the Commission’s ambitions in this regard. EU patients need access to safe and effective medicines, health systems need to be sustainable, and we need a strong, innovative, pharmaceutical sector.

The Department of Health, the lead Government Department for this package, continues to engage in deliberations through the Council Working Party.

To inform the national position, I established the Pharmaceutical Strategy Working Group, through which my Department led engagement across Departments and agencies, to ensure that the national position takes account of the full scope of stakeholder positions.

The Government is proud of Ireland’s pharmaceutical industry. Supporting and enabling safe and effective clinical trials, the commercialisation of innovation, and the scaling of life science companies to enable the development of life-saving products for patients, while also supporting job creation, is a priority for Government. Maintaining the EU’s investment attractiveness is therefore a key consideration of this file.

In parallel, we must find the right balance in meeting the full ambitions of the Commission. We must ensure that the needs of the health systems and objectives of the pharmaceutical industry work synergistically and in doing so ensure that timely access to new medicines for patients in Ireland is maximised.