Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know the Minister of State is going to meet Ms Finola Cassidy after this Commencement matter. I appreciate that and thank him for doing so. I also thank him for his reply. There is no time here. Six of the women who took this drug are in their 90s. These people, sadly, do not have an enormous amount of time left.

I know what is involved in organising a State apology. It needs to happen soon. There needs to be an acknowledgement that the State was wrong and acted in an inappropriate way by not removing the drug. Those things both need to happen quickly.

In respect of compensation, while I accept what the Minister of State has outlined in his reply, an awful lot more needs to be done. These people's lives have been impacted, and very seriously in some cases. They have not been adequately compensated at all. Their medical needs are not being dealt with in the way they ought to be. We need to urgently resolve the situation of the 12 people in this country who are suffering and are not being recognised by the State.

As time goes on, people's lives move forward. We are dealing with elderly people. We are dealing with 40 people who are struggling on a daily basis because of thalidomide. I ask the Minister of State to make a call to the Taoiseach's office to remind him and his officials of the commitment he made in the Dáil two week ago. The timeline outlined then expires tomorrow. I have no doubt but that the Taoiseach will want to honour his commitment. When the Minister of State goes to his office this evening, he might make that call.