Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The best medical and practical advice the Government could take is to recognise that the State has just agreed to pay out substantial damages to a member of the Defence Forces who has been harmed by the use of Lariam. Against a backdrop where 42 members were prescribed the medication last year, why in God's name are we continuing to do this when there are other viable anti-malarial drugs on the market? It does not add up.

The Tánaiste spoke about responsible decision making. I do not expect him to know the details of the case to which I referred, but I assure him they are relevant to the 60 other Lariam damage cases in the pipeline, with the likelihood that many others will join that list in the light of the Cole case which concluded last week. When the Tánaiste has examined the case and concluded that it does affect a broader group, will he then consider it reasonable to abandon the policy of pursuing adversarial court proceedings and instead take responsibility in this matter by agreeing to establish a redress or compensation scheme? Such schemes are in place in Australia and the United Kingdom. While neither is perfect, they both go some way towards dealing with the damage done by Lariam. The Government must intervene with the Defence Forces to prevent more people from potentially joining the numbers who will have to seek redress in the future.

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