If sucking diesel were a cure for Friedreich’s ataxia then Leinster House would be Lourdes. The Dáil meets in special session on Friday to roll over subsidies on fossil fuels that have already cost an additional €1 billion this year. The political story this week, though, has been the row over Skyclarys, a new drug for Friedreich’s ataxia patients.

In an act of previously unknown co-ordination the Fianna Fáil backbenches demanded the drug be provided by the taxpayer at any price.

It was the equivalent of putting tractors on Dublin’s O’Connell Street and an outright attack on the public interest and on patients generally who depend on health spending.

The asking price from the drug company Biogen was €280,000 per patient per year or a likely €130 million over five years if all eligible patients were treated. It wasn’t remotely cost-effective at that price, but the political bandwagon didn’t care. After all, it is somebody else’s money.

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In 2025 the asking price for new drugs was beaten back by the HSE from €499 million to €187 million.........

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