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TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said that “good progress” is being made towards resolving outstanding issues facing thalidomide survivors.
However, he did not give any indication as to when a State apology will be made.
In February, the government committed to making the formal apology “as soon as possible”.
Asked if this would be the year when the issues are finally resolved, Martin told RTÉ’s This Week programme: “Yes, it will be. We’re going to bring this to a conclusion.”
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It was internationally withdrawn in 1961 after it was found to cause severe birth defects. Babies were born with partial or no limbs and painful damage to their nerves, organs, hearing and eyesight.
The Irish government at the time did not publicly announce the withdrawal of thalidomide or account for supplies that had already been sold, meaning it remained on sale for years afterwards. The Irish Thalidomide Association previously said that this resulted “in other needlessly affected babies being born up to and including 1964, three years after the international withdrawal date”.
An RTÉ Prime Time investigation in 2013 found that the government deliberately didn’t issue a public warning about the dangers of Thalidomide at the time because it believed such a move would be ‘undesirable’.
In 2012, the German manufacturers of the drug, Gruenenthal, apologised to those born without limbs as a result of its use.
In November 2023, the around 40 Irish survivors of the crisis called for a State apology to be issued after the Australian government had issued one to survivors in its country.
Martin said the government had held “very positive meetings” with the Irish Thalidomide Association, saying “a lot of interaction” had taken place.
“I’ve been very anxious to take this out of the legal frame for quite a long time,” the Fianna Fáil leader said, adding that there has to be accountability from the manufacturer.
“But we’re making good progress on this and we would like this to be brought to conclusion this year.”
In February, Tánaiste Simon Harris told the same programme that a State apology “has to” happen this year.
He said the government was “trying to take personal charge of this situation”.
“I want us to get to a point where a State apology can be issued, but I know that we want to do that as part of resolving a number of issues,” he said.
“Is it a question of moving ahead with the apology? Can we move sequentially on a number of issues at the same time? But this has to be the year when we bring some degree of closure to people who have been treated so badly.”
That same month, the Irish Thalidomide Association said we now know “the misogynistic and deliberate decision taken by the Irish State not to credit Irish women in the 1960s with the ability to make the right choices for themselves and their families”.
“The Irish State took the deliberate decision; don’t alert them of dangers, lest they get hysterical about what their innocent actions may lead to. Better indeed to allow them to live with a lifetime of unfounded guilt.”
An “enhanced package of health and social care supports” for thalidomide survivors was announced by the government in July 2024.
However, the ITA described the package as inadequate as it had not been set up on a statutory footing and didn’t include a fair compensation scheme.
Last October, the government confirmed an enhanced package of services to all Thalidomide survivors. This included discretionary medical cards for individuals who are still waiting for acknowledgement and confirmation that their injuries were caused by the drug.
A facilitation process, led by retired judge Paul Gilligan, was also set up. But campaigners have claimed that this process, which is confidential, has stalled.
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