Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of newspaper reports that a former senior UK military officer has apologised to British troops who were given the anti-malarial drug Lariam. The choice of malaria drugs in use by other armed forces is an internal matter for those forces. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the policy and practices of other states in this regard or to engage in discussion on the merit of those policies and practices. The health and welfare of the men and women of the Defence Forces are high priorities for me and the Defence Forces. Malaria is a serious disease which killed approximately 438,000 people in 2015, with 90% of the deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, as reported by the World Health Organisation.

The choice of medication for overseas deployment is a medical decision made by medical officers in the Defence Forces having regard to the specific circumstances of the mission and individual member involved. Lariam remains in the formulary of medications prescribed by the medical corps for Defence Forces personnel on appropriate overseas missions to ensure our military personnel can have effective protection against the very serious risks posed by malaria. It is notable that in the period of deployment to malarious areas not a single member of the Defence Forces has died from malaria. Significant precautions are taken by Defence Forces medical officers in assessing the medical suitability of members of the Defence Forces to take any anti-malarial medication. It is the policy of the Defence Forces that personnel are individually screened for fitness for service overseas and medical suitability. There are no plans at this time to withdraw Lariam from the range of anti-malarial medications available to the Defence Forces. The use of and information on medications is kept under ongoing review.

In 2013 a working group investigated all of the various issues surrounding the use of Lariam and obtained advice from leading medical experts. These experts concurred with the practices followed by the Defence Forces in prescribing Lariam. This was outlined in the working group's report which remains legally privileged.

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