Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My understanding is that they are. It would be ridiculous for a Minister to be responding to Dr. Humer, as his statement would require a medical response from a trained doctor or from the Health Products Regulatory Authority. My function as Minister for Defence is to take all of the advice I can and then make decisions. Any decision we make about Lariam is a medical decision, not a political or commercial one.

My understanding isthat we are open to using the three drugs I have outlined, depending on where personnel are going and the types of malaria in those areas. Different drugs may be more effective in different settings. The only basis for a decision is medical, in order to ensure that when our Defence Forces personnel are abroad, they do not get malaria. We have a screening process to ensure that the side effects that can sometimes be associated with Lariam are not allowed to cause serious problems.

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