Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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166. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the development of the support for the Irish survivors of thalidomide Bill; when he expects to publish the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50438/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I met with members of the Irish Thalidomide Association in February last and assured them of the Government’s commitment to provide them with the necessary health supports to meet their related needs. Following that meeting, the designated senior manager in the Health Service Executive who liaises with Irish thalidomide survivors and assists them to access supports towards their ongoing health and personal social service needs, commenced a process to develop recommendations for future planning and pathways of care for survivor’s health care needs now and into the future. The recommendations will also inform the work already underway in the Department to provide these health and personal social supports on a statutory footing as committed to by the Government. It is not possible at this stage to say when the Bill will be published.

Following a Government decision in 1975, Irish survivors of thalidomide have been in receipt of monthly payments for life from the Irish State. The range of supports provided by the Irish State to each Irish survivor also include a medical card on an administrative basis regardless of means, which includes access to a full range of primary care, hospital and personal social services, provision of appliances, artificial limbs, equipment and housing adaptations.

The German Contergan Foundation has confirmed that since 2013 it is accepting applications from individuals for compensation for thalidomide related injury. It is open to any Irish person to apply to the Foundation for assessment of their disability as being attributable to thalidomide. Any Irish person who establishes that their injury is attributable to thalidomide will be offered appropriate supports by the Irish Government, commensurate with those currently provided to Irish thalidomide survivors.