Statement from the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

The Government has today been updated on an enhanced package of health and social care supports for thalidomide survivors.

Co-designed with survivors, enhanced health, social care and independent living supports are currently available to survivors.

This includes prioritised and simplified access to local health and social care professionals, access to therapies both clinical and holistic, independent living supports to include housing adaptions, car adaptations and home supports, annual health assessments and the free travel pass.

We want to take this opportunity to express our sympathy to survivors and their families - we are sorry for all they have endured, for the hardships they have suffered and for the impact thalidomide has had on their lives.

We want to strongly reiterate, once again, their mothers did nothing wrong, and we have never thought otherwise.

It is regretful that the regulatory standards we have today were not the norm, here or internationally, when thalidomide was first brought to market.

Understanding and ensuring drug safety has changed significantly based on their experience.

Hearing survivors’ individual stories as part of this process has been humbling and more importantly, has helped us to understand how we can best meet their needs into the future.

The enhanced package of supports has been founded on a non-legal facilitation process under terms of reference agreed with all parties, under the chairmanship of Mr Kieran Mulvey with Irish survivors of thalidomide.

It commenced on 19th April 2023 and was a voluntary process with survivors.

Significant progress was made. Regrettably, talks did not progress in this format and wider matters raised by survivors were not covered.

The options of resuming a non-legal facilitation process on these issues, or a legal mediation via the State Claims Agency, remain available. However, Government is very conscious of the challenging needs of survivors, particularly as they get older.

It is also aware of the costs associated with meeting their needs. Therefore, Government is anxious to implement these enhanced supports immediately in the best interests of survivors.

We look forward to meeting with survivors to share further information on the enhanced supports in the coming weeks.

ENDS

View supports for acknowledged thalidomide survivors here.

Notes for Editors:

Irish Government policy since 1975 has been to provide Irish thalidomide survivors with access to a range of health and personal social services and other supports to facilitate independent living.

Health Service Supports

Each Irish survivor is also provided with health services from the Irish State including a medical card, regardless of means, along with access to a full range of primary care, hospital and personal social services.

In April 2010, the Government also decided to provide additional supports for Irish thalidomide survivors living in Ireland. These included:

• The appointment of an independent expert consultant in Beaumont Hospital to provide for specific healthcare packages following an assessment of need; and

• The designation of a senior HSE manager as a National Thalidomide Liaison (NTL).

The NTL liaises with Irish thalidomide survivors and assists them to access supports towards their ongoing health and personal social service needs. There have been three Liaisons in the role since 2010. The support provided is on a one-to-one basis, tailored to the specific needs of the person and in response to contact received from survivors. This includes identifying and liaising with the relevant key HSE personnel and other agencies, to provide the required health and social service support.

Since 2013, some of the supports provided to survivors have included ex-gratia grants towards the provision of clinically recommended health supports which cannot be met from within the resources of the HSE. To date these include dental, aural, ophthalmic and orthotic services, chiropractic treatments, surgery, purchase and maintenance of customised wheelchairs, equipment deemed essential to maintain independent living such as purchase and maintenance of environmental controls, personal assistance and home support and housing adaptations.

Financial Supports

In addition to an initial lump sum, monthly payments are made to survivors by the Contergan Foundation in Germany, which is established under German legislation and funded by the German Government. The Contergan Foundation monthly payments range from €818 to €9,816. Annual special payments are available since 2009 of between €460 and €3,600; and annual specific needs payments since 2017 of between €5,676 and €14,700.

Following the Government decision in 1975, survivors were also granted an ex-gratia lump sum equivalent to four times the German lump-sum and an ex-gratia monthly allowance in life equal to the German monthly allowance paid at that time. Up to and including 2009, the Irish monthly payments were generally increased in line with annual Social Welfare increases.

There are currently 28 Irish people in receipt of ex-gratia monthly payments for life from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The annual figure for the Irish payments ranges from €6,175 to €13,313 (paid in monthly instalments ranging from €514 - €1,109) for each individual. The rate of payment is related to each survivor’s level of thalidomide related injury.

Both the German payments and the Irish ex-gratia monthly payments are exempt from tax, including Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT), and are not assessable as means for the purpose of Department of Social Protection payments.

In April 2010, the Government offered a once-off ex-gratia payment of €62,500 as a practical expression of the Government’s sympathy, which was later accepted by a number of survivors.

Under German legislation which entered into force on 1 August 2013, payments by third parties, particularly by foreign states, made to persons affected by the use of drugs containing thalidomide are deducted from the one-off payment and Contergan pension provided by the foundation. Therefore, any increase in Irish payments would result in a corresponding deduction from German payments, with no gain to survivors. This provision was recently challenged in the German Courts. However, the Federal Constitutional Court held on 21 November 2023 that it is compatible with Basic Law.

Unacknowledged Persons

Regarding acknowledgement, the process for recognition and State benefits is by way of application to the Contergan Foundation in Germany followed by a clinical assessment. If any Irish person requires support with the application process, that support can be provided by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the HSE. Any additional Irish person who establishes that their injury is attributable to thalidomide will be offered appropriate supports commensurate with those currently provided to Irish thalidomide survivors.

Government is aware of the concerns of those who have not been acknowledged and are further exploring the possibility of an alternative acknowledgement pathway.