Medicinal cannabis reimbursement
Deputy Kenny raised a constituent whose family had a ministerial cannabis licence but was told reimbursement was unclear, though first patients would soon access products. The Taoiseach said he could not comment on the individual case and advised raising it with the Minister for Health.
In the new year, the first Irish patients will finally get access to medicinal cannabis products. This is to be welcomed. More than 40 people, however, still have to leave the country to collect their prescriptions. Reimbursement is not guaranteed and it would seem to be very arbitrary when it comes to the criteria. One such person, Ms Pamela Fowler, has given me permission to speak about her son today. Ryan Fowler has a condition called Gardner's syndrome, with desmoid fibrosis, and his family was granted a ministerial licence this summer. They were told some weeks ago, however, in a letter they received, that his prescription would not be reimbursed. Ryan's mother has said to me that his life has been transformed because of cannabis due to the chronic pain he goes through. He is now faced, however, with the prospect of not being able to afford the prescription. How is this fair?
Comment on this
I apologise to the Deputy, but I do not have any knowledge of that individual case, so it is impossible for me to comment on it. If he wants to raise it directly with the Minister for Health, I am sure that he will try to provide a reply.