Healthcare Policy
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Maria Byrne (FG), Agricultural Panel

The Minister of State is very welcome. I will follow on from where Senator Boyle left off. I have raised this too. I am on the health committee as well. On 15 October 2025, the governing body that decides what medicines are included in the long-term illness book stated it was at a very advanced stage and that it has been sorted. As Senator Boyle said, it was meant to be Christmas and then it was pushed out. Now we are in June and there has been no decision. I understand a meeting will be held today where they will look at it but I too know of families that have been affected by this. One of my neighbour's grandson is one of the children affected. It is a very trying time for families. As Senator Boyle said, time is muscle. The longer it goes on, the more debilitating that it is for these children. That causes stress and strain within families as well. This needs to be sorted out. I want a timeline. I want to know when families will be reimbursed for the drugs for this serious illness. I know a huge number of people are not affected by this but nobody should have to wait for the timeframe that they have had to thus far for this decision to be made.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10