Pat Carey
Question:459 Mr. Carey asked the Minister for Health and Children if it is the intention of his Department to restrict the availability of natural health care products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13083/02]
Vol. 553 No. 2
459 Mr. Carey asked the Minister for Health and Children if it is the intention of his Department to restrict the availability of natural health care products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13083/02]
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the availability of traditional, alternative and herbal medicinal products. In this regard, I would like to inform the Deputy that my Department is not seeking to restrict availability of these medicinal products, other than in cases where there may be overriding public health considerations. On the contrary, in order to seek to ensure the continued availability of such products that are of appropriate quality and safety, my Department is currently examining proposals from the Irish Medicines Board for the control of these products, the aim of which is to provide the consumer with an assurance that the traditional medicinal products which they buy are: produced to an appropriate quality standard; safe under the recommended conditions of use; can be expected to be effective in the context of their established tradition of use, and are appropriately labelled.
In order to gain the most from these types of medicinal products, it is essential that they be controlled by an appropriate authority to ensure that, like all other medicinal products, they are of an appropriate quality and safe for the consumer to use. The interests of public health can best be realised when there is a formal mechanism for the assessment of these products and a subsequent means of monitoring their use in order to assure their continued safety in use.