Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

 Approximately 1 million vaccinations were administered and an enormous supply of vaccines was made available to the State from the companies in question.  The Government gave a blanket guarantee on the basis that the vaccine was administered off-licence, even though it was administered off-licence at a time when concerns were growing in the Scandinavian countries in regard to the risk of narcolepsy and vaccination.  A number of questions need to be addressed, the most crucial of which is why so much vaccine was used.  No other country went down the route of blanket vaccinations.  How much vaccine was purchased and at what cost?  How much was left over afterwards or destroyed at a cost to the State?

I am glad the Minister spoke about the effects on the people who have been impacted.  The daughter of one my constituents was impacted by the vaccine. She described the condition like trying not to sleep for 72 hours and then being expected to go about her day's work. I know the daughter and she is a fine young person. There is a grievance for the people involved. I say this in a positive manner so that the Minister might take the opportunity to do something about the issue. Information has not filtered down to GPs about what is supposed to happen to the estimated 64 people who were badly affected. Long-term supports are lacking and, while discretionary medical cards have been provided to those affected, this is at the discretion of the HSE. There appears to be little or no co-ordination or response form the HSE, the Department of Health or the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Early intervention is critical for those who are still at school or studying but the Department of Education and Skills has not provided any special supports. The response of the Department of Social Protection has been particularly poor and inconsistent. The families concerned report that there has been little or no communication between the relevant Departments and those who are affected.

I am hopeful that we can move to a place whereby people are satisfied with the response, in comparison to the current position whereby there is nothing but dissatisfaction. It is 13 times more likely that somebody vaccinated with Pandemrix will be affected by narcolepsy. I do not want the State to be liable for funds but if the State is wrong, it is wrong. I would like to see faster and greater movement on the issue. The reason for the court case is because of a lack of movement. It disappoints me that the Government has acted poorly on this occasion.