UCAN Ireland notes with concern the comments attributed to Prof. Michael Barry in today’s RTÉ article by Fergal Bowers.
We are a grassroots, independent advocacy movement driven by one goal — to ensure that Irish cancer patients have timely and equitable access to the best available treatments, in line with European standards.
Prof. Barry’s remarks risk undermining the integrity of clinicians and advocates who have, in good faith and with full transparency, called attention to delays and shortcomings in the drug reimbursement process in Ireland. Suggesting that clinicians are somehow compromised by industry involvement is a deeply unfair and unsubstantiated claim. These are healthcare professionals who see first-hand the consequences of delayed access — and they are speaking out because their patients cannot afford to wait.
It is also important to point out that such comments serve as a distraction from the real issue: Ireland’s reimbursement system is not fit for purpose. By international comparison, we are among the slowest in Europe when it comes to approving access to innovative cancer therapies for public patients. This is not a matter of perception — it is borne out by the data and by the lived experience of patients across the country.
UCAN Ireland will continue to advocate, without fear or favour, for a reformed and patient-centred reimbursement system that serves the needs of those it is supposed to protect.
https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2025/0701/1521161-drug-payments-ireland/
Lynch Syndrome Ireland 