An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-26
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a pertinent and important issue. There is no question but that medicines are advancing at a rapid pace. In the context of therapeutics and more generally in the area of oncology, there are new drugs, perhaps every five years in some instances. Health systems all over the world are struggling to keep pace with the rapidity of change. Thankfully, survival rates relating to cancer are increasing all round because of the advances that have been made.
I have engaged in discussions with the Minister on this matter. Working with the national cancer control programme, we need to look at how we can deal with the rapidity and volume of new drugs coming on stream. Orphan drugs, which may not relate to cancer alone and which may be used to treat a range of other conditions, are going through similar technology assessments. The process is taking a long time. We need the co-operation of the companies involved in terms of dealing sensibly and practically with this, but there is no doubt that it is a growing issue.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-26