Medicinal Products
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny

I thank the Senator for highlighting the case for the family. As he said, €600 per month is a lot of money. I will definitely go back to the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, on this; I assure the Senator of that. I thank him again.
The State has made significant investment into the medicines pricing and reimbursement system since 2024, including funding to recruit an additional 34 staff across the pricing and reimbursement system, which includes an 80% uplift in the number of staff in the NCPE. We also have a pricing and reimbursement medicine tracker now. I am sure the Senator is aware of this. It was launched to provide transparency to patients and industry alike, in addition to two new framework agreements with Medicines for Ireland and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association, IPHA, on the supply and pricing of medicines. That has been successfully concluded following extensive engagement and negotiations with our pharmaceutical sector. These agreements will enable faster access to new, innovative medicines for patients. The Senator is right. This is something that needs to be looked at and he can be assured I will definitely speak to the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, on his behalf. I thank him again for raising this matter.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21