Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to go through all of the questions. There are a number of them and some of them overlap. Senator Craughwell asked about the Lariam issue. The first case heard in the High Court was on 3 November 2017 and the matter was settled on 30 November 2017 without admission or liability. The next Lariam case was listed for hearing on 15 March 2019 and the case was settled and struck out with no admission of liability. The reason for settlement was very specific in that particular case. A further case commenced on 21 June 2019 and on 3 July 2019 that case was withdrawn by the plaintiffs. It was struck out with no order. No further Lariam cases are listed for hearing this year.

As the committee knows, a working group on Lariam was set up and has reviewed developments in the context of the Defence Forces' use of malarial chemoprophylaxis. The working group obtained advice from leading national and international medical experts. The working group's report was submitted to the Minister and the report was produced in the context of current potential litigation, which is legally privileged as I hope the committee understands. The report made a total of 12 recommendations, which are intended to ensure the Defence Forces' medical policies and practice continue to develop in light of best practice. Many of the recommendations focus on planning, training, education and training for information sharing as well as the establishment of the medical advisory group. I have accepted the recommendations of the working group and established an implementation group. The work is ongoing. Given that litigation is pending, it would be totally inappropriate of me to comment further on this issue other than to say that the medical advice from the military is that Lariam is used where appropriate. That is decided by the medical people in the Department, not me.

A question was asked about the fisherman's tax credit. I believe it was introduced in 2017 but I stand to be corrected and if I am incorrect, I will come back on the issue. The tax credit for members of the Naval Service who spend more than 80 days at sea is a positive step forward. It does not address all of the issues and challenges we have but it is part of addressing them. We cannot touch core pay because of the public service stability agreement but pay will be reviewed in 2020. The tax credit is something I was asked about by PDFORRA and military management. The Department worked closely with PDFORRA and military management in putting together a submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Last week, I was delighted that the Minister for Finance brought a-----