I am not sure if the Taoiseach saw the "Prime Time" special recently in relation to rare diseases and patients' inability to access much-needed drugs. I know the Taoiseach is very familiar with the topic as he previously served as the Minister for Health. I want to bring up this issue again because we have given a commitment in the programme for Government that we will reform the reimbursement process. We really need to start that body of work now.

If the Taoiseach had watched the programme, he would have seen Emily Felix and other people with Friedreich’s ataxia. Craig Coady from Cork, whose child suffers from the same condition, has lost a child already and his wife is seriously ill. On that programme, Professor Michael Barry indicated that the reason pharmaceutical companies do not want to come here to reimburse drugs is because they do not make enough money. That might be true in some cases, but it belies the fact that the majority of them do not come here because it is too much hassle to go through a health technology assessment. The review I am asking for would at least review that process and, hopefully, streamline it so we can get more effective and efficient decisions in future.

I thank the Deputy. I call the Taoiseach.

We have a budget process that we are all heading into at the moment, and we need funding for rare diseases and new drugs to be included as part of this budget.

I call the Taoiseach to respond. I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He has been a strong advocate for reform of the reimbursement scheme, particularly insofar as it applies to what we might term orphan drugs. There is a growing issue here in terms of how some of these drugs are coming onto the market, the level of engagement between some companies and the State and, yes, our own system as well. Some companies are more accessible in terms of engaging with than others, but that is of no value to those who need the medicines quickly. I am aware of the cases the Deputy mentioned and the urgency attached to them. I have spoken to the Minister for Health about this issue. There is engagement with the company involved in the case of Friedreich’s ataxia. The Department had been awaiting responses, but that engagement is vital to trying to get this resolved for Friedreich's ataxia cases.

I thank the Taoiseach. I call Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh.

I accept the need for a review.