Ulster Unionist Health Spokesperson, Alan Chambers MLA, has said a head in the sand approach from the European Union with regard to the serious problems of the Protocol would be immoral, if it led to citizens in Northern Ireland losing access to medicinal products and devices.

Alan Chambers said:

“Despite the many broken promises of avoiding any impediment to trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, it’s hugely disappointing that this far into the year we are still none the wiser as to what actual measures will be taken to ensure the health of the Northern Ireland population will not be compromised as a result of the impact of the NI Protocol on the pharmaceutical industry.

“As it stands, there is no guarantee that Northern Ireland will be able to maintain the same access to medicinal products and medical devices, nor continue to have equal access to new medicines and innovative treatments as the rest of the United Kingdom.

“The European Union had already accepted that because the market for medicinal products in Northern Ireland has been so historically dependent on Great Britain, time was needed by the industry to meet the totally disproportionate obligations that were foisted upon it.

“The subsequent one-year derogation has been hugely important, but if the EU Commission insists on proceeding with the Protocol until all the potential problems of regulatory differences and challenges to the supply chain are fully known, then it should give a commitment that a full derogation will remain in place.

 “Whilst I know Robin Swann has already put plans in place to pre-emptively cover a range of outcomes from temporary product shortages to major price increases, the fact that the health and welfare of citizens in Northern Ireland could be impacted so greatly as a result of a flawed political deal between the UK Government and the EU Commission is in my mind one of the clearest illustrations to date as to why the NI Protocol has to be scrapped. Until it is, the EU Commission shouldn't use the safety of citizens in Northern Ireland as some sort of pawn and so it should move to provide certainty now by committing to a full derogation.”