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

I am sorry, I meant Vote 38. As the then Minister, Deputy Martin, commenced a report in 2002 that culminated in the publication of the expert group report on introducing a no-fault vaccine compensation scheme. It is an issue we have addressed at the committee on a number of occasions. Up to now, subhead F2 was to deal with that and, sadly, it has not been dealt with. I am disappointed by that. If the Minister cannot brief us today, he might brief us as to what is the timeline for this.

I note that the explanation for this Vote refers back to the previous expert group which was established in 1977 and which found in the early 1980s that 16 children had, in all probability, been profoundly brain-damaged by the administration of the three-in-one vaccine, in particular the whooping cough element of that. Fifteen of those 16 sets of parents took a £10,000 ex gratia payment at that time. Can the Minister tell me that what we are talking about here is providing additional supports to those particular children, who are now adults? We have to look in a fair-minded way at the offer that was put to those parents, many of whom were under severe financial pressure at that time. Of course, one of those parents did not take the compensation. Mrs. Margaret Best went on to win her High Court case against Glaxo Wellcome on behalf of her son, Kenneth Best, and got substantial compensation on foot of that.

Are we now considering revisiting the once-off payment that was made by the then Minister, Dr. Michael Woods, to those 15 parents, or are we talking about some other overall scheme that has been promised for a long time but has not moved along?