Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The working group that was established to deal with this issue has completed two reports, neither of which has been published. Why has that not happened? The Minister of State advised that the routine anti-malarial drug that has been prescribed to personnel serving Mali is Lariam. This was confirmed to my colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, a few weeks ago. There are reports in the media that the Minister intends to deploy a contingent of the Army Ranger Wing to Mali. Will they also be prescribed Lariam?

The side effects of Lariam have been well rehearsed in this House. The Members of the House made their position clear on these issues two years ago and we have not heard anything further since then. It is baffling that the drug is still being prescribed to Defence Forces personnel. Will the Minister of State outline the actions that have been taken on foot of the motion that was passed in the House two years ago?

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