Health Minister admits some UK drug firms may stop supplying Ireland with medical supplies
The possibility of some drug companies discontinuing supply to the Irish market in the wake of Brexit cannot be ruled out, according to the Health Minister.
Simon Harris said presuming an ongoing good relationship with the UK, he didn’t think supply would be a problem but conceded some companies may decide Ireland is “too small a country to sell into”.
He told RTÉ's Drivetime programme that, should the uncertainty around Brexit continue, some companies could make a commercial decision not to continue supplying the Irish market.
A lot would depend on the future trading relationship with the UK and the nature of Brexit - be it in the form of a transition period or a crash-out. These factors could also affect the future cost of medicines.
In general, however, Mr Harris said he was satisfied with the level of preparedness of the health service in relation to medicines and medical devices post-Brexit.
Mr Harris said they had not identified any medicine that will not be available “arising from Brexit”.
He said if Britain leaves the EU on October 31, Brexit D-Day, there were sufficient medicine stocks - of six to eight weeks - in Ireland to combat any temporary delays.
However he said Brexit “is a permanent state of change and therefore will require constant and ongoing vigilance”.
"We're still considering whether we want to put further contingency measures in place, by way of air, and keeping that under close review, but we're not aware of any delay in relation to that.
"October 31 is just a date in a calendar, it'll be one day, and if Brexit happens there will be many more days after that and we will need to continue to be vigilant.”
Mr Harris said the "opportunity cost" of Brexit to the state has been "massive".
"The extraordinarily dedicated unit of people in my department, the HSE and HPRA would much rather be talking to me about other issues. We're spending so much of our time preparing for Brexit.
"The opportunity cost of Brexit to Government and our citizens, in terms of a programme of work we'd rather be doing, is very clear, but having said that, Brexit is and must be national priority one, two and three."
Asked if Brexit could lead to rogue medicines in Ireland, Irish Pharmacy Union secretary general Darragh O'Loughlin said they had an authentication system in place "so that every pack can be checked", and that rogue medicines had not been an issue in Ireland.
