Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced on RTÉ’s Prime Time, broadcast 11 June 2026, that she has signed off the tender for an end-to-end review of Ireland’s system for approving access to and funding for new drugs and medical treatments. The Minister said she approved the tender details the previous week and that the review would examine how the system could be made more efficient, describing the goal as making the process “tighter” and “better on the HSE side.”1
The review was committed to in the 2025 Programme for Government and follows sustained criticism from families affected by rare diseases over the length of time taken to access treatments. The Minister expects the review to take around six months and said it will form part of wider efforts to ensure medicine reimbursement decisions are made within 180 days of a company submission.1
References
1. Minister details plan to review system for approving new drugs. RTÉ News — Prime Time. 11 June 2026. https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0611/1578030-minister-signs-off-on-review-of-system-for-approving-new-drugs/
