It is undemocratic.

There is a promise on page 56 of A Programme for a Partnership Government to the effect that equal and fair treatment will be given to sick and vulnerable people and children. That is why Ms Noreen O'Neill from Kilgarvan and her friends are climbing Croagh Patrick next weekend. They are highlighting the need for tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, to be made available.

It is a component of cannabis oil that she needs for Michael, her 22 month old son, to prevent seizures and periods of chronic pain from which he suffers terribly. I am asking that this medicine be made available through our chemists and pharmacists, which would benefit people who need it, like little Michael O'Neill from Kilgarvan. I ask that this be done before the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Government go on their summer holidays because consultants and doctors are afraid to give prescriptions for this vital drug.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority made a recommendation that this Government set up a cannabis access programme 18 months ago. Nothing has happened since. The Dáil supported the Bill I put forward eight months ago providing for access to medicinal cannabis. As nothing has happened, we will continue to have cases such as that of Noreen O'Neill.

The licensing system for medical cannabis is failing, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, is quite well aware of this. I have raised the matter with him, as have other Deputies. In the case of Noreen O'Neill and her child, it is extremely worrying and frightening to think of a child suffering from seizures despite knowing that this cannabis oil, if made available, would stop those seizures from happening. Over the weekend, people were trying to get help, advice and assistance from another campaigner, Ms Vera Twomey, because their children are suffering with seizures. This is a very common problem, and I believe the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health should tackle it on behalf of the O'Neill family, Vera Twomey and all of the other families who are not as prominent and outspoken about this matter.

Like Deputies Michael and Danny Healy-Rae I have spoken to Ms Noreen O'Neill. This lady is climbing Croagh Patrick, one of the highest mountains in the country, to highlight the efforts she is making to get medicinal cannabis for her child. Medicinal cannabis must be rescheduled in Ireland. As it stands, it is classified as a drug with no medicinal properties. Until this situation changes, consultants will have grave difficulties in prescribing the necessary treatment. The Government in the UK has seen the error of its ways. Vera Twomey was treated with the highest respect in the British Parliament last week. We fail in our duty to these people continuously. They are suffering and their children and loved ones are suffering. Why are we dragging our feet on this issue?

Noreen O'Neill and many of her supporters are climbing a mountain at the weekend to highlight this case but they have to climb a mountain every day to fight for the healthcare needs of their children. It is a disgrace that this State is forcing people to go abroad to access healthcare. I am not talking about Britain but to the Netherlands, the Spanish state and beyond. The events in the UK show that this issue is not going away. It will come back onto the agenda again, and the Government will have to deal with it. The people will make sure that it does.

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. The best approach to be taken in this case is for the patient concerned to get a prescription from a specialist. A specialist doctor is required, and he or she must be willing to prescribe the drug and monitor it for side effects and efficacy. The Minister for Health has already issued seven or eight licences on that basis and has not refused any application for such a licence. The best thing to do would be to get a prescription from a qualified specialist, which is the normal way people acquire medicines. The Minister can issue a licence if a prescription is given. We acknowledge that the current process is cumbersome. The Minister is working on a cannabis access programme which will make it easier for people to access medicinal cannabis. There are grave difficulties with the proposal that the medicine be made available in pharmacies because it is not a licensed medicine. A licensed medicine must be produced to certain standards and sourcing this product in that way is already proving difficult.