Carroll MacNeill tells MEPs she’s putting competitiveness and access at heart of Irish Presidency
Irish health minister tells MEPs she is focused on competitiveness and better access to medicines and medical devices
Irish Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill used her first appearance before the European Parliament's Public Health Committee (SANT) to deliver a clear message: Ireland wants to make Europe a faster, more competitive place to develop medicines, but adds that patients must see the benefits.
Quizzed by MEPs on the Irish Presidency's health priorities, Carroll MacNeill said competitiveness and patient care are two sides of the same coin.
Renew Europe’s Stine Bosse urged the Presidency to pay close attention to the impact of the United States’ MFN pricing model, warning it threatens both Europe’s pharmaceutical industry and universal healthcare systems.
"On the MFN question... it is a huge priority. It's really important," Carroll MacNeill said, noting the issue had already been discussed by EU health ministers in Luxembourg and that the European Commission was preparing further analysis. She warned that the geopolitical implications for medicine pricing, access and supply certainty were "very sharply felt."
The minister made clear that Ireland intends to fast-track the clinical trials chapter of the Biotech Act, arguing that quicker, more accessible trials are essential if Europe is to remain an attractive destination for life sciences investment.
"We want people in Europe to have much better access to clinical trials," she said, adding that patients in smaller member states should have the same opportunities as those in Europe's biggest markets.
Her broader diagnosis was blunt: Europe has become too slow at turning scientific breakthroughs into treatments: "We have brought ourselves to a place where that access isn't what it should be," she said, referring to medicines, medical devices and clinical trials. "That's not good for innovation... but more than anything else, that's not good for public health."
Carroll MacNeill repeatedly argued that Europe must stop allowing innovations developed in its universities to be commercialised elsewhere.
"We want [new products] to be developed in Europe. We want them to be funded in Europe. We want them to come to market in Europe."
The Irish Presidency will also prioritise simplification of the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR), with the aim of reaching a Council general approach by December.
Green MEP Tilly Metz challenged the minister on One Health, antimicrobial resistance and workforce shortages. Carroll MacNeill confirmed Ireland would hold a dedicated Presidency event on healthcare workforce resilience, stressing Europe must expand its workforce without contributing to brain drain from lower-income countries.
She also highlighted women's health as a Presidency priority, announcing a dedicated conference on endometriosis to improve awareness, research and treatment for a condition she described as affecting up to one in seven women.
Asked about health commitments under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), MacNeill demurred from commenting, saying that negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget were being handled by another ministry.
Throughout the hearing, Carroll MacNeill sought to frame the Irish Presidency as one focused on delivery and getting better medicines and medical devices to patients faster.
Catherine Feore