Vera Twomey, pictured outside Leinster House this afternoon Source: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

A BILL SEEKING to legalise the prescription of medicinal cannabis as medication in Ireland has progressed to the next stage of debate in the Dáil, despite a recommendation that it should not be allowed to proceed.

Previously, the Dáil health committee had stated that the bill should not be allowed to move further in its current guise.

The joint health committee report on the matter – which was released in July before the end of the last Dáil term – identified a large range of issues with the bill and recommended that it not progress any further. The committee had previously held two hearings regarding the bill in April.

I just spoke on #MedicinalCannabis Bill and it appears FF and SF are going to support the Bill now, public pressure has clearly been a part of this. It shows that campaigning can have impact, particularly the campaign work of Vera Twomey @veras1 #dubw #Dáil — Ruth Coppinger (@RuthCoppingerSP) November 9, 2017 Source: Ruth Coppinger TD /Twitter

However, the government has now indicated that it will not be opposing the bill at its current stage, which should see it progress to committee debate. Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin are also understood to be open to allowing the bill to progress.

Earlier, medicinal cannabis campaigner Vera Twomey, whose daughter Ava suffers from a rare form of epilepsy and is currently undergoing cannabis-related treatment in the Netherlands, collapsed from exhaustion outside the gates of Leinster House.

She has since been discharged from St Vincent’s Hospital and was back in Dáil Éireann to see the debate of the bill.

A vote on the bill will now take place next week.