Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Baineann mo cheist leis an vacsaín in aghaidh Covid - i ndáiríre, bheadh sé níos cirte "na vacsaíní in aghaidh Covid" a rá - agus leis an tslánaíocht ar chúiseamh a thug an Rialtas do na comhlachtaí cogaisíochta. Ceangailte leis sin, ba mhaith liom ceist a chur faoin mbearna mhór atá ann ó thaobh córais cúitimh do na daoine a bheidh ag déileáil le dochar ó na vacsaíní, is cuma cé chomh beag a bheidh an dream sin.

My question concerns the indemnity offered to companies involved with the vaccine or vaccines. Integral to that is the absence of any compensation scheme. This is in spite of the Meenan report, which does not appear to have been published. I will come back to that report. I will save the Taoiseach time in his response by stating that vaccines are an essential tool in our fight against Covid-19. I ask him not to tell me how important they are. Maybe he could dírigh isteach ar an gceist. The question is this. What are the details of the indemnity given to the companies? What about a proper system of compensation for the group of people who may suffer or will suffer from the vaccines?

I ask this because we need trust in the system. We will get that trust and encourage maximum take-up through transparency and facts. The Taoiseach's response to a Deputy who asked about this in the Dáil was an exhortation to "get real", and a reminder that we are dealing with an unprecedented situation. The Taoiseach's comments were quoted by Professor Luke O'Neill in the Irish Independent, who went on to compare the vaccine to the atom bomb. In the context of today's discussion, those words were totally unacceptable in comparing the vaccine to the atom bomb in our fight against Covid. They were the words used by Professor O'Neill. He wrote about this as a marvellous scientific advance, which it absolutely is, and noted the quick progress that has been made. There was absolutely no acknowledgment of the public funds that have gone into the development of these vaccines through the Commission on our behalf.

Absolutely no information has been given to Deputies on the amount of public money spent on the development of the vaccine or the indemnity that has been offered. What will happen to the small number of people who suffer as a result of the vaccine, as happened with the swine flu vaccine? The most recent figures on that refer to 123 claims, 113 of which are live and are being fought every inch of the way. The claimants in the recently settled case of Benjamin Blackwell were at pains to point out that they were not anti-vaccine or anti-science. If they had been given full information at the time, however, they would not have allowed the swine flu vaccination to be given to their child.

I have two specific questions. What are the details of the indemnity given? What will be done about an independent compensation system?

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