Prime Time

• The Cost Of Living

  Eithne O'Brien blogs ahead of her report tonight on the cost to the State of life-saving drugs and who gets what:

  

  
  
  Every day, more and more drugs are being brought to the market that offer great hope for patients; hope of a cure, hope of a longer, healthier life. But these drugs come at a cost. The price of drugs are going up but healthcare spending is going down, so how do we choose what drugs to pay for and what patients should have them? Last month, the issue came to the fore when a number of melanoma patients contacted RTÉ's Liveline to express concern that a new drug for advanced melanoma called Ipilimumab, or Ippi - as it is known, would not be made available to patients.
  
  The decision about the cost-effectiveness of new drugs is made by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and they recommend to the HSE whether these new drugs should be made available or not. Up until recently, a drug that extended the value of life by a year at a cost of €30,000-€45,000 was considered good value for money but, in a bid to reduce costs, a figure of €20,000 is also being presented to the HSE . When the NCPE looked at Ipilimumab, they decided that at a cost of €85,000 per patient and an average survival rate of an extra 3 months, it was not good value for money.
  
  But oncologists like Prof John Crown say that this is a crude measurement as a drug like Ippi can have a spectacular effect on a small number of patients and so the cost is worth it, if it means a major prolongation of some patients lives. Martin Mc Mahon is one of those patients and he is hoping that Ippi will give him that chance of life that he needs. When he heard that Ippi was not available to him he contacted the Liveline programme and pleaded his case. The result saw an extensive media campaign and Ippi was approved for use for melanoma patients.
  But health economists like Prof. Charles Normand believe that decisions like these will mean that other patients will lose out as there is only so much money to go around. This year the HSE want to cut €112 million from their drugs budget, so hard choices must be made.
  
  Doctors like Prof Orla Hardiman are also concerned that even when drugs are deemed good value for money by the NCPE, the HSE (who have the final say) are not making drugs available to patients because of funding problems. One example of this is the MS drug Gilenya. Thirty year old Karen O’Shea has had MS for five years, but the drug she was on was causing her terrible side effects. Her doctor recommended Gilenya but she can’t get it. She is now without any medication for her condition.
  
  So with less resources to go around how can we make choices that are fair to everybody? Prof Hardiman argues that we need a transparent system rather than a system that sees the most tragic diseases with the greatest advocates get an unfair proportion of the funding. Prof. Crown argues that diseases like Cancer should not face the same harsh economics assessments as other medical costs. As the HSE comes under more pressure to manage diminishing resources, tough choices will be made and patients could get caught in the crossfire.
  Eithne O'Brien
  Prime Time, RTÉ 1, 21:35

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• Unwelcome Home

  Tonight’s Prime Time features a report by Adrian Lydon into conditions in some private rented accommodation in Ireland.

  

  Around a quarter of a million people are tenants of private properties in Ireland, but despite the introduction of tougher legislation in 2009 covering basic standards for accommodation, Prime Time has found properties without heat, hot running water or sanitary facilities. And in some cases, the State is helping to pay for them.
  
  Prime Time has also found serious issues around illegal evictions and tenants’ deposits being withheld by landlords. Since 2004, disputes between landlords and tenants are meant to be settled primarily outside the Courts through the Private Residential Tenancies Board – but even here, Prime Time has uncovered evidence of long delays and difficulties with enforcing decisions.
  
  Background Note: Some material in this report was gathered in Autumn 2011 for the Prime Time Investigates strand. Research and filming has continued throughout this year. It is now being broadcast as an extended Prime Time report.
  
  Prime Time, RTÉ 1, 21:35

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• Prime Time - 8th May 2012

  Edel McAllister blogs ahead of tonight's programme:
  
  
  
  
  
  It was meant to end the anxiety and uncertainty of funding nursing home care for older people. But last year the figures did not add up for the Fair Deal scheme - it ran out of money in the middle of the year and it's temporary suspension caused upheaval and confusion. The Fair Deal scheme is now three years old the Minister with responsibility for Older People Kathleen Lynch has announced a review.

  

  The flagship Fair Deal scheme replaced an old system of public beds and subventions that was widely regarded as unfair. But projecting how many people would need beds under the new scheme and how much they might cost proved complex and precarious.

  Over 20 thousand people rely on the Fair Deal scheme to fund their nursing home care, and hundreds apply every month. Under the Fair Deal scheme the state pays three quarters of the bill for nursing home care - a cost of over 1bn. Under the scheme, you pay 80 per cent of your assessable income and 5 per cent of the value of your assets every year - including your house. For family homes this is capped at three years or 15 per cent and it can be deferred until after death. However there is concern that the dramatic fall in property prices leaves the government exposed.

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• Helpline Numbers

  If you feel you've been affected by the issues addressed in the items regarding clerical child sex abuse on tonight's programme, you can speak to someone by contacting one of the numbers below:
  
  
  One In Four – 01 6624070 (9:30am – 5:30pm, Monday – Friday)

  Connect Counselling: 1800 477 477 ROI
  00800 477 477 77 NI (6pm - 10pm, Wednesday - Sunday) Lines will be open tonight (Thursday 3 May) until midnight
  
  Faoiseamh: 1800 331234 ROI
  0800973272 NI (Extended hours: 11am-11pm today and Friday, 11am – 8pm Saturday and Sunday)

  The Samaritans – 1850 609090 ROI
  08457 909090 NI (24 hours, 365 days a year)
  

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• Prime Time - 3rd May 2012

  Robert Shortt blogs ahead of tonight's programme:
  
  

  

  
  ‘Le Changement, C’est maintenant’ (The Change, it’s now) is the chant from thousands of supporters of French Socialist candidate, François Hollande, at a packed rally we attended in Limoges, a city in the centre of France.
  We travelled to Limoges for tonight’s report on the French Presidential election. It’s a campaign that has brought a Socialist Party candidate within sight of the Élysée Palace for the first time in years. While opinion polls have tightened in the final week, Hollande has maintained a consistent lead.
  
  Limoges is in the Corrèze region where Nicolas Hollande cut his political teeth.
  His speech listed his campaign promises. He wants to renegotiate the Fiscal Treaty and add some provisions on growth and jobs. It’s vague, leaving options for future possible negotiations. In the audience, former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin looks on. He still has the same shock of white hair but looks older. He negotiated the inclusion of the word ‘growth’ into the Growth and Stability Pact back in 1997, smoothing the political ground for the birth of the euro.
  
  Adding ‘growth’ to the ‘Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union’ may result in something equally rhetorical.
  But the Socialist Party believes it can deliver more.
  
  One of its senators, Hélène Conway-Mouret, a woman with strong Dublin connections, believes it may be premature for Ireland to vote on the Treaty. Stressing that it’s for the Irish to decide, she tells us in tonight’s programme that if her party’s nominee wins, the Irish could be voting on a text of a Treaty which is going to be missing a part.
  
  But not everyone believes Francois Hollande can turn around France and Europe’s fortunes.
  
  We speak to an economist, Frederic Bonnevay, of Anthera Partners who fears the Socialist candidate will roll back reforms which already do not go far enough to address France’s fiscal problems. France hasn’t balanced its books in over thirty years and its debt as a percentage of GDP is approaching 90%. Its credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s in January. A downgrade by another ratings agency could make the funding of Europe’s bailed-out economies –like Ireland- more expensive.
  
  We’ll also bring you to rally where an impassioned Nicolas Sarkozy spoke of immigration and strong borders as he strove to garner as many votes as possible from the supporters of the National Front.
  
  We talk to the ‘sans papiers’ or undocumented immigrants who experience the rough edge of stricter immigration laws.
  
  So join us tonight as we bring you a report on an election with implications not just for the French but everyone in Europe.
  Robert Shortt
  
  Prime Time, 21:35, RTÉ 1

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• Prime Time - 1st May 2012

  On tonight's programme:
  

  

  The pamphlets have been printed, the posters are being hung and the battle-lines have been well and truly drawn. The campaigns for both the Yes and No sides on Ireland’s forthcoming referendum on the European Fiscal Treaty are now properly underway and the next four weeks will see both sides attempt to convince the electorate just why a Yes/No vote will be a positive/terrible thing for the country, depending on who’s making the argument.
  
  Much has been made of what the consequences of a No vote will be and tonight, Oonagh Smyth tries to establish what exactly will lie in store for Ireland in the event of the referendum being rejected. In studio, Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton will debate the issues with Socialist Party TD Clare Daly.
  
  Also tonight – it’s been eight years since Ireland took the pioneering step of introducing a smoking ban in workplaces. It was lauded as progressive measure at the time – one which was subsequently adopted by quite a number of countries, including the UK. Minister for Health Dr. James Reilly has recently declared his intention to extend the ban to beaches, public parks, sportsgrounds and boardwalks. The minister has made it clear that the aim of the plan is not to protect those who would suffer from the second-hand smoke but rather to “denormalise” smoking, and reduce even further the number of places in which children can witness adults partaking of a smoke in a public. Tonight, Donogh Diamond asks whether this latest plan is yet another example of progressive thinking in the fight to eradicate tobacco-related illnesses or just another step by the Nanny State in attempting to control every aspect of Irish life. In studio, we’ll be joined by Minister James Reilly and John Mallon of pro-smoker lobby group Forest Eireann.
  Prime Time, RTÉ 1, 21:35
  

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