Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe the Taoiseach listened to what I said. I genuinely do not blame him for anything that has happened before now. I am, however, going to blame him for what will happen next. On the day he announced that the Attorney General was being instructed to cease litigation in cervical cancer cases, a Kilkenny family who had appeared before the High Court went to the courts for the ninth time to seek discovery in a case involving Pandemrix. We know that in September 2009, before any child or any person was given Pandemrix, the Chief Medical Officer of the HSE received a letter from the chief executive of the Irish Medicines Board, now the Health Products Regulatory Authority, expressing the board's concerns about the impact of the absence of data on information on the product and the dangers with reference to the dosage for children and pregnant women. One month later, in October 2009, the HSE issued a glowing report that stated Pandemrix was safe for use as the seasonal flu vaccine. This was in direct contradiction with the letter the HSE had received from the Irish Medicines Board just days before. There are dozens of families before the courts who have been waiting eight years to get answers.

If the Taoiseach is serious about there being a change in culture, the first step must be a moratorium in respect of these cases, which have put families through years of devastation, litigation and cost. The Government should call a halt first and then embark on having a proper redress scheme in advance of a no-fault compensation scheme.

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