Written answer
Health Services
The Minister cited increased medicines funding and 47 Drugs Group reviews, while new agreements target 180-day reimbursement by 2029 through a system review.
407. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if she is aware that there is a lengthening queue of reimbursement applications awaiting review by the HSE Drugs Group, if she considers it appropriate that patients, healthcare professionals and manufacturers should wait for five months for a HSE reimbursement recommendation following submission of commercial proposals by manufacturers to the HSE’s Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit; and the work that she is doing as Minister for Health to increase HSE Drugs Group productivity and capacity in 2026. [74977/26]
Comment on this
Government is committed to funding timely access to new medicines for patients in Ireland. In 2026 the budget for medicines is increased by over €200 million with €30 million ringfenced to support access to new medicines. This has allowed the HSE to approve from January 2026 to the 3rd September 2026, 40 new drugs and new uses for existing medicines. In 2027 €30 million will be available for new medicines with the overall medicines budget increasing by over €300 million.
Under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines.
The Drugs Group is the national committee which the HSE has in place to make recommendations on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines. The membership of the HSE Drugs Group includes public interest members. The HSE Drugs Group considers all of the evidence and makes a recommendation to the HSE Senior Management Team. In 2026 to date, the Drugs Group has met a total of 10 times and has considered a total of 47 items.
Two new Framework Agreements on the Supply and Pricing of Medicines (FASPM) between the State and Medicines for Ireland and the Irish Pharmaceutical Health Association respectively were signed on the 3rd of March for the period 2026-2029.
These Agreements include a shared commitment between the State and industry to achieve a 180-day reimbursement timeline by Q1 2029, accelerating patient access to new treatments. This structured process will be implemented over the lifetime of the Agreements and involves, among other measures, a strategic end-to-end review of the pricing and reimbursement system and its functioning, which is now underway.