LEO: BREXIT COULD LEAD TO MEDICINE SHORTAGES
‘Concerned’ Taoiseach eyes contingency plan
THE Government is preparing for a shortage of medicines here in the event of a hard Brexit. Leo Varadkar is drawing up contingency plans to guard against a supply crisis which is a real concern if a new regulatory regime comes into force in the UK when it leaves the EU. The Taoiseach’s decision comes after last week’s British government announcement that it is to begin stockpiling medicines and blood supplies in case of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
Britain’s NHS depends upon the free, unchecked flow of vital medicines and supplies from elsewhere in
Europe, and failure to secure a deal before Britain’s exit would likely cause significant disruption to those supplies.
Now, Leo Varadkar has admitted there is a real concern that could lead to a shortage of medicines here, because we are so reliant on the UK market.
Medicines packed in the UK are often marketed and supplied to the Irish market. However, after the UK leaves the European Union, its medicine regulatory regime may diverge from the existing European regime and, by extension, the Irish regime. This could mean that medicines approved for use in the UK may not be approved for use in the EU and Ireland, meaning an end to batch sharing.
The Taoiseach admitted that the small size of the Irish market could make it commercially unsustainable for British pharma firms to continue supplying us.
He told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘There is potentially a concern around medicines, both because a lot of our supply chains go through the United Kingdom, you know some companies see us
This is all ‘pie in the sky’
as part of, you know, see the UK and Ireland as a single market.
‘And everything down to the packaging and the English language information that comes with your box of tablets is done on a UK-Ireland-wide basis.
‘The other thing as well, is some companies might see Ireland’s market as just too small on its own. So that is a concern that we have, and it’s one we are developing contingency plans on.’
He continued: ‘A lot of these medicines are made in Ireland anyway, so they won’t be a problem. And even in the event of a hard, no-deal Brexit, it is not that it would be impossible to import from the UK – it would still be possible. But there would be restrictions obviously. So part of our contingency planning does involve making sure that we have a supply of medicines.’
Medicines For Ireland, the representative body for the generic medicine industry in Ireland, has already voiced its concerns that medicines shortages which have been growing in Ireland are likely to increase further post Brexit.
And yesterday, Pascal Lamy, the former director general of the World Trade Organization, said he could see a scenario where Ireland may need emergency aid from the EU should a no-deal situation develop. Mr Lamy told RTÉ the desire for no hard or physical border is ‘pie in the sky’. He said: ‘We all know that exit with no trade deal is the most costly version. But it will be costly, and of course the first in line is as we all know Ireland, for obvious reasons.’
He added: ‘Ireland would be most hit both in quantity and proportion and then there should be some sort of EU solidarity, although there will of course be people in the Continent who will say, “why should we pay for the British not being able to agree a solution?”’
Last week British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that plans for stocking up on essential goods are under way – in case imports from the EU are cut off by clogged ports, or regulatory disputes. Asked if people should be alarmed, she said: ‘Far from being worried about preparations that we are making, I would say that people should take reassurance and comfort from the fact that the government is saying we are in a negotiation, we are working for a good deal.’
‘It went down very badly’
Mrs May was dealt a blow by Brussels on Thursday when the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, rejected customs proposals that form a key plank of her white paper.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach refused to say whether or not he thinks there should be a ‘people’s vote’ in Britain, giving the public a choice to decide after a deal is done. Mr Varadkar said that is ‘entirely up to’ Britain and that there would be ‘nothing less helpful’ than him rowing in on this debate. He added: ‘I remember the time when the president of France – with the best of intentions – Nicolas Sarkozy, arrived in Ireland to advise on how we should vote in, I think it was the Lisbon or Nice Treaty, I can’t remember which one, and it went down very badly.
‘So I think there will be nothing less helpful to the cause of a sensible Brexit, and the cause of Ireland’s best interests being upheld, than me telling the UK people whether or not they should have a second referendum. That’s up to parliament.’