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Minister for Health, Simon Harris, has today signed an agreement to work with Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to secure affordable and timely access to new medicines for Irish patients. The agreement to join the existing Beneluxa Initiative on Pharmaceutical Policy was signed at the EPSCO Council of Ministers meeting in Luxembourg.

Speaking from Luxembourg, Minister Harris said

I am delighted that Ireland is now a member of the Beneluxa Initiative on Pharmaceutical Policy. Securing timely access for patients to new medicines in an affordable and sustainable way is one of my key objectives as Health Minister and I am committed to working with my European colleagues to identify workable solutions, in what is an increasingly challenging environment.

This collaboration will provide Ireland with excellent opportunities for sharing information and expertise on medicines. I want the newest and most innovative medicines to be available in a timely manner to all our citizens. This collaboration will assist us in doing just that, by ensuring that medicines can be sourced at a price that is affordable and sustainable in the context of the ever competing demands for resources rights across our health service.