THE STATE IS facing 94 Covid-19 vaccine-related claims as of the end of July, according to Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

The State Claims Agency (SCA), which manages personal injury claims taken against the State and state authorities, has been notified of 94 legal cases linked to healthcare locations, including hospitals, nursing homes and other HSE locations which were used to administer the Covid-19 vaccine programme.

Carroll MacNeill confirmed in a recent parliamentary question that the figure includes claims relating to Covid-19 vaccine-related wrongful death claims.

She said the SCA has received 72 wrongful death claims related to the contraction of Covid-19. 

The long-awaited Covid-19 inquiry will be completed by the end of the year.

The independent evaluation into how Ireland dealt with the global pandemic was set up by the government in 2024.

It has held a number of public consultations and forums, with the inquiry officials engaging in a roundtable in May with senior officials from select departments to gain further insights on pandemic management. 

The inquiry also met with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris at the end of June.

The meeting with the Taoiseach focused on the government’s response to the pandemic from the period of June 2020 –February 2022, a time in which the Taoiseach was in office.

Tánaiste Simon Harris’ meeting focused on his role as Minister for Health from the beginning of the pandemic until June 2020. Both discussions also encompassed reflections for future events of this scale, according to the inquiry. 

Following this engagement with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, Prof Anne Scott, who is heading up the inquiry, said the meetings were hugely valuable engagements which have helped the inquiry to further understand the complexities of decision-making during the pandemic.

Other key decision-makers from the pandemic period, such as former chief medical officer Tony Holohan, are planned over the coming weeks and months.

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