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

It is being brought through the system. The Government has committed to that Bill and we will fully follow through on it. Deputy Clare Daly and I have spoken before about the broader issue of the approach to Lariam. She knows this is not a straightforward issue to deal with. Families have made certain accusations and they need to be tested. Those families have chosen a legal route to seek compensation and the truth and they are perfectly entitled to do that. The State also has a perspective on this.

The core issue is whether Lariam is suitable for use. Different countries take different approaches. It is not true to state that all countries are moving away from the use of Lariam. Some countries have and others have not. Some use it in certain circumstances and in certain locations and others do not. I have not been involved with this file for a while because I am outside of that Department. I will follow up on the expert medical group and respond directly to the Deputy on that. On the broader issue, however, is not as simple to deal with as Deputy Clare Daly sometimes maintains.

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