Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

286. To ask the Minister for Health his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8094/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This matter is the subject of litigation in which plaintiffs allege personal injury in which they claim the development of narcolepsy (cataplexy) resulted from the administration of the H1N1 pandemic vaccine. As Deputies would be aware, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on individual cases or matters that are the subject of ongoing litigation. However, I can provide background information on this litigation and clarify matters that are already in the public domain.

In October 2013, the Government approved (S180/46/01/0005B) the delegation to the State Claims Agency (SCA) of the management of claims in relation to individuals alleging the development of narcolepsy resulting from the administration of the pandemic vaccine. The management of the cases transferred to the SCA when the National Treasury Management Agency (Delegation of Claims Management Functions) (Amendment) Order 2013 (S.I. no. 405 of 2013) was signed by the Taoiseach on 15 October 2013. This reflects the greater experience and expertise that the State Claims Agency has in the area of medical litigation.

An Order requiring the defendants to make Discovery was made in the High Court on 28 November 2016 in the most advanced case. Discovery is a legal process which must be carried out in accordance with Orders made by the Courts. There have been a number of High Court Motion hearings concerning this matter since then and the Department of Health and the HSE continue to comply with all Orders made by the Courts.

The Department of Health is working assiduously to complete its Discovery and has kept the Court fully appraised as to its progress in that regard. However, the sheer size and complexity of the Discovery which requires to be made means that this is not a trivial or quick process. The Department undertook a full access review of the entire email, database and shared network drive which serves the whole Department of Health with a dedicated team undertaking the appropriate searches against vast sources of data supported by both internal and external IT experts. The Department has identified over 680,000 records, all which must be examined and scheduled by the State’s legal team. To that end, the Department put in place a dedicated team of 8 discovery personnel to carry out this work with support from solicitors, to ensure that the terms of any Orders are fully complied with.