Vol. 523 No. 5
148 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Science if the compensation tribunal for victims of child abuse will consider compensation for children involved in the testing of experimental vaccines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21359/00]
The Government announced last week a decision in principle to establish a body to compensate those people who as children were victims of abuse in the care of institutions in which they were resident and in respect of which State bodies had regulatory or supervisory functions. The Government further decided that the definition of abuse to be used in that process would be as defined by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act, 2000. The Government noted that further issues concerning the establishment, funding and operation of a compensation body would be subject to further consideration and decision in the near future. Whether children who were involved in the testing of experimental vaccines would come under the terms of a compensation body will depend on the extent to which they could be said to have been in the care of bodies over which the State had regulating or supervisory functions. This matter will be considered further as part of the process of preparing detailed provisions.
