Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their responses and thank Dr. Kelleher in particular for his response. I put it to him that he is correct in that the aforementioned recommendation regarding a no-fault compensation scheme was made 11 years ago. As he is aware, every other country in Europe and every other developed country in the world has put in place such a system. Nevertheless, Ireland still has not done so. It must be acknowledged publicly that in a limited number of cases there are severe adverse reactions to vaccines, and those children and their families should be treated in a humane manner. To revert to the point made by Deputy Ó Caoláin, is it not true that in many cases parents have been obliged to fight and are still fighting for a public acknowledgement that their children were damaged by the vaccine or may have been damaged by the vaccine? Is it not the case that they are subsequently obliged to fight for even the most basic of services? Dr. Kelleher is aware the State has acknowledged 16 cases. An ex gratia payment of £10,000, with a confidentially clause tied into it, was made to those particular families when Dr. Woods was Minister for Health. Does Dr. Kelleher not think this matter should be getting a far higher priority within the Department and that there should be public acknowledgement that these children and their parents should be treated in a humane manner where, in all probability, they have been damaged by the vaccine? This pertains to very small numbers and Dr. Kelleher's point regarding proportion is correct. However, while the benefits far outweigh the risks, this does not mean one should shove the risks under the carpet or ignore those families and parents. This issue has been considered and navel-gazed within the Department since 2001. I met the Minister in April 2002 on this subject. A report was produced, followed by an expert group report, which now is gathering further dust, although the Department has stated consistently since 2009 that it is considering it. It took a long time even to get the aforementioned report published. When will actual action be taken in this area?