LABOUR LEADER IVANA Bacik has called on the government to issue a formal State apology to thalidomide survivors.

She added that there is “no legal barrier preventing government from acting now”.

Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant mothers in the 1950s and 1960s as an anti-morning sickness drug.

It was internationally withdrawn in 1961 after it was found to cause severe birth defects, but remained on sale in Ireland until the following year.

In 2012, the German manufacturer apologised to those born without limbs as a result of its use.

Thalidomide survivor Sharon Clarken told tonight’s RTÉ’s Prime Time that the impact on her family has been “devastating”.

Her mother Mary Clarken turns 96 tomorrow and Sharon has said she will be “devastated” if a State apology is not issued while her mother is still alive.

File image of Mary Clarken Virgin Media Virgin Media

Back in 2022, Mary told RTÉ that “one little tiny tablet” had caused “so much damage”.

She said her daughter Sharon needed a “bone graft to see if it could extend her arm” and that she then required further operations.

Sharon told tonight’s Prime Time that the guilt her mother felt was “absolutely horrific”.

“A few months ago, she even said out of the blue, ‘I only took one tablet, one tablet.’ That feeling, it must be horrific.”

Sharon said her mother would be “very, very pleased with an apology”. 

“The whole family was affected by this drug, and it’s so important when somebody does something wrong that they say they’re sorry,” said Sharon.

“I would think that my mother would be very happy if the government come out and say, ‘we are truly, truly sorry for what happened to you and your families’.”

In a statement to Prime Time, a government spokesperson said the Taoiseach and Tánaiste are “making every effort to bring all outstanding issues to a conclusion” and that they are “committed to a State apology at the conclusion of this process”.

This mirrored a statement that a government spokesperson had issued back in February following a meeting between the Irish Thalidomide Association (ITA) and Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris.

Prior to the February meeting, Martin remarked that it is “complex” to get all the issues impacting survivors resolved, and acknowledged that this has caused “a lot of frustration”.

Harris, meanwhile, has previously said that a State apology “has to” happen this year.

‘Historic State failure’

Bacik praised Clarken and all Thalidomide survivors and campaigners for their “extraordinary dignity, courage and persistence in seeking justice”.

She called on the government to “immediately establish a statutory compensation scheme, provide tailored supports and issue a formal State apology”.

“Sharon’s contribution on RTÉ’s Prime Time was deeply moving and underscored the human cost of this historic State failure,” said Bacik.

She added that this “failure continues so long as there is no official apology and compensation for the refusal to withdraw Thalidomide, once its adverse effects were known”.

Bacik noted that many Thalidomide survivors are “now in their 60s and 70s, coping daily with worsening pain, complex surgeries and increasing reliance on assistive technologies”.

“No one should be forced to wait more than 64 years for justice,” said Bacik.

“Surviving parents have spoken of the guilt they continue to feel; that guilt is not theirs to bear and the State must acknowledge this formally.”

Bacik added that the government has “repeatedly failed to deliver”.

She noted that both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have “acknowledged the suffering endured by survivors” but added that their “warm words are no substitute for justice”.

“There is no legal barrier preventing government from acting now,” said Bacik. She said Labour is seeking “three straightforward actions”.

These include a former State apology, and a statutory compensation and support package designed around survivors’ evolving medical needs, including specialist clinical care, mobility supports and long-term assistance.

The third action Labour is calling for is a “binding timeline for the conclusion of this process so that no one dies waiting for justice”.