2. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of the report conducted by the Health Research Board that informed his Department of the current status of the medical cannabis access programme, MCAP; when his Department will consider the findings and make a clinical decision on whether to expand the criteria of the MCAP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19872/24]

Deputy Gino Kenny: Earlier this year the Health Research Board, HRB, published a very extensive report on the efficacy and safety of the medical cannabis access programme. The programme has been in place since 2019. Could the Minister give me his thoughts on the report and what the Department of Health intends to do next?

Deputy Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Deputy for his question and acknowledge his ongoing work in this area, both in terms of the MCAP initially and the evolution of the programme. As he will be aware, we launched the medical cannabis access programme in 2021 for three conditions initially: refractory epilepsy, spasticity as a result of MS and nausea from chemotherapy. Since the inception of the programme, 55 separate patients have availed of it - 52 adults and three minors, mainly for spasticity associated with MS. There were 38 patients in that category.

As the Deputy quite rightly said, we have conducted a review now that we have the programme in place to see if there is a clinical case for it to be expanded. It certainly is something that I am very open to. At my request, the HRB was requested to carry out an exercise of initial evidence-gathering, the results of which have been published. The publication is now subject to clinical review. We want to ascertain whether there is sufficient evidence to broaden the scope of the conditions that could be treated under MCAP. I am certainly very open to it. I will be entirely led by the clinicians on the board. As the Deputy will be aware, I allocated significant funding to get the MCAP initiative moving.

On a second positive note, since we launched MCAP, which is for the unlicensed medicinal cannabis products, we now have several licensed cannabis products. What I hear back from the clinical community, is that the preference of clinicians, where possible, is to prescribe on the licensed programme because they argue that there is greater clinical evidence from trials, and we are seeing prescriptions under the licensed programme increase, which is very positive.

Deputy Gino Kenny: The concept of the medical cannabis access programme is a good idea, because the licensed system is very bureaucratic and, in some instances, archaic. Since the inception of MCAP, only 55 people have got access. That is a tiny number of people given that the legislation was introduced in 2019 and the access programme in 2021. The HRB report says there is significant evidence of good efficacy of medical cannabis for neuropathic pain. The programme must expand, otherwise, it will become redundant. If that happens, people will either go to the black market or go without. There is a huge amount of frustration with the limitations of the programme thus far.