The Government compensation package for victims of thalidomide was derisory and has left those affected “shell-shocked and very disappointed”, the Irish Thalidomide Association said today.
The association said it will recommend rejection of the compensation package, of lump sums of €62,500 for each of the 32 people affected plus an annual lump sum of up to €3,680 each, to its members.
Minister for Health Mary Harney announced the measures earlier this week following a meeting with members of the association. The group was seeking compensation, an apology and an explanation for how the State handled the drug scandal in the 1960s.
Children born to women who took the drug while they were pregnant suffered problems including missing or shortened limbs, missing ears and hearing problems. The survivors are all now in their late 40s.
Finola Cassidy, chairwoman of the association, said members had not been listened to in any constructive manner.
“The unprecedented deterioration of our bodies has made us terrified for our future,” she said.
She said the association had made absolutely no contribution to the deal put on the table.
“We are quite shell-shocked and very disappointed with this deal,” she said.
“The way it was handled piled insult on top of injury.”
The group will recommend to its members that the deal be rejected and then decided where to go from there, Ms Cassidy said.
A previous settlement for those affected by thalidomide was made in 1975. Individuals received lump sums of between £6,600 and £21,300 and a monthly allowance for life of between £31.75 and £95.
Cabinet files from 1973 and 1974 indicate the Department of Health failed to immediately warn the public about the dangers of the drug when it was withdrawn by its German manufacturer in 1961 because “suspicions” about it had not been confirmed.
