Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

There are two problems with the Minister's response. One is that it seems to be taking an incredibly long time for the Department to consider this matter, and there is no indication of any urgency at all. Nobody said that Lariam was the only drug, but the attitude of the Irish Defence Forces has primarily been of that view. Back in 1992, the World Health Organisation warned against the use of Lariam, specifically in regard to troops in Cambodia at that time. We are now in 2015, and the more we delay, the more people like Mark are subjected to Lariam and its potential side effects in that scenario.

The select Defence Committee in Britain is examining this issue in a proactive way, and the Australian Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade has launched an inquiry into the use of Lariam. It is not good enough to say we have a working group and hopefully it will provide findings soon or that we will not be able to have this drug next year anyway. We need action to be taken now. Would the Minister be available to meet Mark to discuss this after these questions?

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