Ministers have no right to seek to cancel protests

THE right to protest is a fundamental part of a democracy. Yesterday, cystic fibrosis sufferers, campaigning for access to the powerful drug Orkambi, held a protest outside Leinster House.

It’s a regular occurrence. Often those based in the Dáil are not even aware there is a protest outside. But it is an important moment for campaigners to feel their voice is heard and to draw attention to their cause. Jillian McNulty, who suffers from the condition, was among those on Kildare Street yesterday.

A powerful article by Ms McNulty’s on the desperate need for the drug appeared in yesterday’s Irish Independent.

She was praised for her courage by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin in the Chamber yesterday.

Bizarrely, Health Minister Simon Harris asked Ms McNulty and Cystic Fibrosis Association chief Philip Watt to cancel their protest.

Mr Harris says he was asking for space for important commercial and contractual aspects of negotiations to be concluded. Ms McNulty believed she was being asked to the meeting to hear that a deal had been struck. She described her shock when Mr Harris asked her not to go ahead with the protest. She said the minister was wrong to make the request. “It isn’t up to a minister to ask for a protest to be cancelled,” she insisted.

And she’s right.