After months of pressure from the Irish Parliament, the Irish Government has named a professor of public health to lead a formal evaluation of its Medical Cannabis Access Programme.
A written answer from the ministerial office (dated March 18, 2026), reveals that, although MCAP was launched in 2021 and has been running since then, there are less than 100 approved patients for MCAP treatment.
The Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced today that retired epidemiologist Professor Shane Allwright from Trinity College Dublin will be leading the project. Access to Cannabis for Medical UseThe MCAP, as well as the Ministerial Licence Pathway, will be examined to determine if the narrow eligibility requirements of the program should be expanded.
Since January 2024 when the HRB released the evidence evaluation commissioned for it, this review is in progress.
MacNeill says that MacNeill expects the review to officially begin in Q2 of 2025, and to publish its complete report within 12 month.
The protest movement to the programme
The programme was launched in March 2017 following a campaign in the community led by Vera Twomey whose daughter Ava has a rare drug-resistant type of epilepsy, known as Dravet’s syndrome.
In June 2019, Minister Simon Harris, who is responsible for the MCAP, signed legislation establishing it as a 5-year pilot project, prior to the treatment of the first patient in 2021.
The programme began with three conditions that qualified: severe epilepsy, nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy and spasticity caused by multiple sclerosis.
Further, cannabis prescription was only allowed by medical doctors, and the patient had to be a fully-treated standard patient before it could even be considered.
Advocates warned that the program was limited even at this early stage. Natalie O’Regan, a legal researcher and drug policy advocate, noted at the time that no patients were being supervised or monitored under the scheme, leaving ‘no raw data to inform the next steps.’
Gino Kenny, the People Before Profit TD who had been central to pushing for the programme, called it ‘far too restrictive,’ adding that it needed to include other conditions to ‘fulfil its potential.’
Caroll McNeill wrote to John Paul O’Shea in response to his question on 18th March 2026. She confirmed that, since the launch of this programme, only 22 doctors have submitted requests on behalf patients.
MCAP was preceded by a parallel pathway, the ministerial licensing, that allowed patients access to cannabis products for medical conditions not covered under the MCAP eligibility criteria. This route required approval from Minister for Health. This pathway was described as long and bureaucratic in several parliamentary replies. It involved supplying products to patients from a pharmacy located in The Netherlands. Importation is managed by the HSE every month.
A written answer to Deputy Pádraig Rice in January 2026 confirmed that the ministerial licence scheme will also fall within the scope of the 2026 review.
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Evidence base
A report by the Health Research Board, published in 2024 by HRB, will inform this review. It examined 47 systematic studies covering over three decades of medical cannabis research across multiple conditions.
HRB also found promising evidence that neuropathic discomfort could be significantly improved by the drug. Review found that there was no convincing evidence for the majority of other conditions. These included pain and anxiety in cancer and rheumatic disorders, as well as fibromyalgia.
The report described the overall body of research as ‘fragmented,’ with a ‘low degree of certainty in the evidence for most outcomes,’ and called for further high-quality clinical trials.
Dr Kathryn Lambe, Research Officer at the HRB and lead author, said the review would ‘help inform decision making in relation to future policy on the use of prescribed medicinal cannabis along with input from patient groups, clinicians, and service planners.’
This assessment, according to O’Regan, ‘failed to engage with any current MCAP patients, and missed the opportunity to gather real-world data that is available on their doorstep.’
“In 2024 we are still hearing ‘the need for more research’ as a reason to not expand access,” she added. The patients will be the ones who suffer as a result of limited access.
The HRB Report was released in January 2024. The report was published in January 2024, but the appointment of the Chairperson to be informed by it did not occur until April 20,26.
Ava Protocol
The review will also address the lack of a national policy for the use of cannabis in hospitals, which was brought to light by the untimely death of Cork’s Ava Barry on May 20, 2023.
Ava Twomey’s mother Vera Twomey said that Ava had Dravet Syndrome and was granted a ministerial license in 2017. This allowed her to get medicinal cannabis. Her seizures were reduced by 50% to 70%, according to Vera Twomey.
Twomey had to be on Ava’s ward at Cork University Hospital for several weeks, as she was the only licensed doctor who could administer her medication. The jury at an inquest held in December of 2024 found that there were no policies in place for the use of special-licensed medicines in hospital settings.
Ava’s Protocol is the name of this recommendation. In a written answer to Deputy Rice in January 2026, Carroll MacNeill stated that administration of Schedule 1 cannabis-based products would be ‘one of the key considerations’ of the 2026 review, with recommendations expected within a year of the review’s commencement.
Ava’s Family Barrister Doireann O’Mahony stated that Ava’s Protocol was implemented and now the family is being “led into believing there would be a review process.”
It also comes in the context of documented instances of patients who were unable travel to Ireland to take legally prescribed marijuana medication. Jason Pickering (a UK patient with a prescription for medical cannabis flower to treat anxiety) had his medication confiscated in December 2024 at Dublin Airport, even though he was carrying the prescription and original packaging.
Visitors are not allowed to enter Ireland with unlicensed cannabis medicine, which is the majority of the drugs prescribed in the UK.
Professor Allwright
The appointment of Professor Allwright has attracted attention because her experience is in public health and tobacco policy, rather than cannabis medicine.
She was the chairperson of the study on the effects of tobacco smoke on health that led to Ireland’s introduction of smokefree work places legislation in 2004. In addition, she conducted research on the effect of the ban on respiratory health of bar workers.
She has been a fellow emerita of Trinity College Dublin since 1989 and is honoured to be a member of both the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, as well the UK Faculty of Public Health.
Carroll MacNeill said she was ‘confident that Professor Allwright’s extensive experience will ensure that the work of the Group is thorough, balanced, and evidence-based’, while Allwright described the review as ‘important and challenging’, adding that she looked forward to ‘bringing my national experience in public health policy to the role.’
Not all members of the review group have been revealed. Beyond the terms of reference set forth in the press release of 1 April, no other guidelines have been published by Health.
Ireland is an exception in that it has a slow and steady pace of reform, compared to other European countries.
Irish patients, and their advocates have been battling for years to change one of Europe’s strictest programmes. They are still unsure if this review is going to bring about the necessary changes.
After months of pressure from the Irish Parliament, the Irish Government has named a professor of public health to lead a formal evaluation of its Medical Cannabis Access Programme.
Despite the MCAP program’s 2021 launch, an answer from a minister (March 18th 2026), reveals less than one hundred patients who have received approval for treatment with medical cannabis under its MCAP plan.
The Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced today that retired epidemiologist Professor Shane Allwright from Trinity College Dublin will be leading the project. Access to Cannabis for Medical UseThe MCAP, as well as the Ministerial Licence Pathway, will be examined to determine if the narrow eligibility requirements of the program should be changed.
Since January 2024 when the HRB released the evidence analysis commissioned by it, this review is in progress.
MacNeill has stated that the full review will be published within a year of its official start in Q2 2020.
The protest movement to the programme
The programme was launched in March 2017 following a campaign in the community led by Vera Twomey whose daughter Ava has a rare drug-resistant type of epilepsy, known as Dravet’s syndrome.
In June 2019, Minister Simon Harris approved legislation establishing the MCAP, a 5-year pilot project, to be implemented before 2021, when the first patient will receive treatment.
The program was initially restricted to only three medical conditions. These were spasticity due to multiple sclerosis (MS), nausea and vomiting that could not be controlled by chemotherapy, or severe, treatment-resistant seizures.
Moreover, the prescribing of cannabis was restricted to doctors and patients had to exhaust all other standard treatment before they could consider it.
Advocates warned that the program was limited even at this early stage. Natalie O’Regan, a legal researcher and drug policy advocate, noted at the time that no patients were being supervised or monitored under the scheme, leaving ‘no raw data to inform the next steps.’
Gino Kenny, the People Before Profit TD who had been central to pushing for the programme, called it ‘far too restrictive,’ adding that it needed to include other conditions to ‘fulfil its potential.’
Caroll McNeill wrote to John Paul O’Shea in response to his question on 18th March 2026. She confirmed that, since the launch of this programme, only 22 doctors have submitted requests on behalf patients.
MCAP was preceded by a parallel pathway, the ministerial licensing, that allowed patients to obtain cannabis for medical conditions not covered under the MCAP. However, approval is required from the Minister of Health. This pathway was described as long and bureaucratic in several parliamentary replies. It involved supplying products to patients from a pharmacy located in The Netherlands. Importation is managed by the HSE every month.
A written answer to Deputy Pádraig Rice in January 2026 confirmed that the ministerial licence scheme will also fall within the scope of the 2026 review.
READ MORE…
Evidence base
A report by the Health Research Board, published in 2024 by HRB, will inform this review. It examined 47 systematic studies covering over three decades of medical cannabis research across multiple conditions.
HRB also found promising evidence that neuropathic discomfort could be significantly improved by the drug. Review found that there was no convincing evidence for the majority of other conditions. These included pain and anxiety in cancer and other rheumatic disorders, as well as fibromyalgia.
The report described the overall body of research as ‘fragmented,’ with a ‘low degree of certainty in the evidence for most outcomes,’ and called for further high-quality clinical trials.
Dr Kathryn Lambe, Research Officer at the HRB and lead author, said the review would ‘help inform decision making in relation to future policy on the use of prescribed medicinal cannabis along with input from patient groups, clinicians, and service planners.’
This assessment, according to O’Regan, ‘failed to engage with any current MCAP patients, and missed the opportunity to gather real-world data that is available on their doorstep.’
“In 2024 we are still hearing ‘the need for more research’ as a reason to not expand access,” she added. Patients will ultimately suffer from limited access to medicine they might find valuable.
The HRB Report was released in January 2024. The report was published in January 2024, but the appointment of the Chairperson to be informed by it did not occur until April 20,26.
Ava Protocol
The review will also address the lack of a national policy for the use of cannabis in hospitals, which was brought to light by the May 2023 death of Cork’s Ava Barry.
Ava Twomey had Dravet’s syndrome and received a ministerial permit in 2017 that allowed her access to medicinal cannabis. According to Vera Twomey her seizures had decreased by between 50-70%.
Twomey had to be on Ava’s ward at Cork University Hospital for several weeks, as she was the only person licensed to administer Ava’s medications. The jury at an inquest held in December of 2024 found that there were no policies in place for the use of special-licensed medicines in hospital settings.
Ava’s Protocol is the name of this recommendation. In a written answer to Deputy Rice in January 2026, Carroll MacNeill stated that administration of Schedule 1 cannabis-based products would be ‘one of the key considerations’ of the 2026 review, with recommendations expected within a year of the review’s commencement.
Ava’s lawyer, Doireann O’Mahony said that the family was “led to think Ava’s Protocol will be implemented. Yet, we now hear there will be a new review process.”
It also comes in the context of documented instances of patients who were unable travel to Ireland with cannabis medicine legally prescribed. Jason Pickering (a UK patient with a prescription for medical cannabis flower to treat anxiety) had his medication confiscated in December 2024 at Dublin Airport, even though he was carrying the original package and valid prescription.
Visitors are not allowed to enter Ireland with unlicensed cannabis medicine, which is the majority of the drugs prescribed in the UK.
Professor Allwright
It is her expertise in tobacco, public health policy and cannabis that has brought attention to Professor Allwright.
She chaired a report that examined the harmful effects of smoking in the workplace, which was crucial to Ireland’s legislation on smokefree working environments.
She has been a fellow emerita of Trinity College Dublin since 1989 and is also an honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, as well the UK Faculty of Public Health.
Carroll MacNeill said she was ‘confident that Professor Allwright’s extensive experience will ensure that the work of the Group is thorough, balanced, and evidence-based’, while Allwright described the review as ‘important and challenging’, adding that she looked forward to ‘bringing my national experience in public health policy to the role.’
Not all members of the review group have been revealed. Beyond the terms of reference set forth in the press release of 1 April, no other guidelines have been published by Health.
Ireland is an exception in that it has a slow and steady pace of reform, compared to other European countries.
Irish patients who spent many years trying to navigate one of Europe’s strictest programmes still have questions about whether the review will bring the needed changes.
Cannabis Law Resources in Poland
Discover essential legal information about the cultivation of cannabis, its sale, and regulations governing medical products in Poland. You can use these resources to learn about the requirements for certifications and permissions.
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Polish News Registration and Interests of Cannabis Businesses
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Permissions for Cannabis Sales in Poland
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Authorization for Importing or Manufacturing Medical Products
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Permission for Manufacturing or Importing Medical Products
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Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
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Registration of Medical Products in Poland