Mary White (Fianna Fail)

Ten weeks ago, the Minister for Health and Children met some of the 32 remaining survivors of thalidomide in this part of the island. The Irish Thalidomide Association waited a year for this meeting but survivors were seriously irritated by the deal on offer. A number of issues of significant concern were not addressed and the request to disclose documents from 1950 onwards was refused. A disclosure would allow the full story of this drug to be told for the first time. Certain legal issues were raised by the association and the Minister promised to respond within 24 hours. Ten weeks later, however, she has not yet replied. These people, about whom I have spoken on numerous occasions in this House, cannot afford to invest all their physical energy into their campaign for justice. They are exhausted and in pain from the overuse of their disabled limbs. They take pain killers morning, noon and night.

I urge the Leader to speak to the Minister about addressing this urgent issue for the sake of the survivors. I am putting my reputation on the line and I will continue to press their case until due compensation is paid to this group of people. The State failed them miserably. In his autobiography, Dr. O'Connell wrote that he was able to purchase the thalidomide drug without a prescription three years after it had been withdrawn. This scandal is being kept below the political radar.