IRISH CHILDREN born with birth deformities as a result of the thalidomide scandal are demanding an apology from the State for what happened them.
Their call comes just days after it emerged the British government is planning to offer an apology and further compensation to thalidomide victims.
At a press conference in Dublin yesterday, Finola Cassidy, spokeswoman for the Irish Thalidomide Association (ITA), said the association had been in discussions with Minister for Health Mary Harney for two years on issues around the inadequacy of an original settlement made with thalidomide victims in the State in the 1970s, but no progress had been made.
They now want to meet Taoiseach Brian Cowen.
Ms Cassidy explained that in the early 1970s an arrangement was entered into by the State whereby thalidomide children received “a relatively minuscule lump sum” in compensation – averaging about £4,000 – and a monthly disability payment for life.
These monthly payments in 2009 range between €514 and €1,109.
However, she said it was never anticipated survivors like her would live to adulthood and suffer worsening disabilities. The State, she added, never admitted responsibility for what occurred and still refuses access to documentation about why thalidomide was licensed for use by pregnant women in Ireland for morning sickness and insomnia. It was also licensed in several European countries but not in the US.
The drug was taken by Irish women between 1959 and 1969 and there are 32 surviving Irish victims who were born with birth deformities including no limbs, shortened limbs or absence of organs. She said that while the British government planned to provide enhanced compensation and an apology, “in Ireland, the Government procrastinate, fail to acknowledge in an open and transparent manner the wrong that occurred and neglect to furnish any apology”.
The Department of Health, in a statement, said Ms Harney had asked the State Claims Agency to assess the ITA’s requests in the context of Irish and international provisions for victims of thalidomide and in the context of Irish case law and precedent.
“Any proposal which comes out of this process will need to be considered by Government in view of the State’s current financial circumstances and the possible consequences for other State compensation payments,” it said.