Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 25 Feb 2010

Vol. 703 No. 3

Adjournment Debate.

Thalidomide Survivors.

Deputy Chris Andrews

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this matter. Last Tuesday I met with members of the Irish Thalidomide Association who were in Leinster House to brief the Joint Committee on Health and Children on their situation. Their story is one of the most difficult and tragic I have come across, and is all the more upsetting because it could have been prevented. We can get bogged down in this House with legalities, politics, reports and so on and tend to forget about the individual stories. At the meeting Ms Maggie Woods gave a harrowing account of her life story which was upsetting to hear. It put the issue in context.

There are 32 acknowledged thalidomide survivors in the State, the children of women who unwittingly took the prescribed morning sickness medication with no realisation of the hugely damaging effect it would have on their unborn children. This drug was marketed between 1958 and 1961 and was withdrawn from use after it was linked to birth deformities. Thalidomide causes severe foetal damage by preventing the growth of new blood vessels at critical periods in the baby's development. The most obvious effects are absent or foreshortened limbs but children's vision and hearing were also affected while others sustained damage to internal organs. Many babies did not survive the pregnancy and many more died in infancy.

The 32 survivors are brave people who have managed to live extraordinary lives. They are remarkably well adjusted despite the difficulties they have encountered in their lives. They have managed to overcome those difficulties without any of the sense of bitterness and anger one might expect. They are well adjusted and surprisingly so given their experiences.

A lump sum was paid decades ago to the parents of survivors. However, the amount was small and it was not believed thalidomide victims would live long. Special assistance may be required to allow these survivors to continue to live as independently as possible. There is an onus on the State to provide monetary compensation to ensure the needs of these people are met.

Earlier last month the Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Mr. McGimpsey, announced a £1.1 million compensation package for survivors in Northern Ireland of thalidomide, of which there are 18. This followed on from the Britain's announcement of a compensation fund of £20 million for its 466 thalidomide survivors. I believe the Government has a responsibility to provide for our survivors.

Following two years of campaigning and almost 50 years of distress there has been no progress in regard to the review of the 1975 thalidomide agreement called for by the ITA. On Tuesday, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children resolved to contact the Minister to request that they be included in the State Claims Agency report. The ITA is requesting an acknowledgment of the wrong done — it was wrong for this drug to be licensed by the State — an apology for survivors and the families of those who did not survive, and disclosure of documents. The Department of Health and Children has refused to grant voluntary disclosure of documents in all Departments pertaining to this tragedy, despite the passing of 50 years. The ITA is also requesting a fair and equitable compensation package, including a health care package that properly addresses the unique needs of this group to ensure they can maintain the level of deteriorating health they continue to experience and where possible to lead independent lives.

I ask that fairness and justice be applied to this particular group and that this matter be given full attention.

Minister of State at the Department of the Health and Children (Deputy Áine Brady)

I am pleased to have this opportunity to outline the position in relation to the matter raised by the Deputy. The Minister and Department officials met with the Irish Thalidomide Association on a number of occasions at which the ITA sought a review of the payments by the Irish Government to the survivors of thalidomide.

The Minister considered the detailed proposals made by the ITA, met again with the association in March 2009 and undertook to consider its claim further. In May 2009, the Department asked the State Claims Agency to examine the association's claims and assess its requests in the context of Irish and International provisions for survivors of thalidomide and in the context of Irish case law and precedent and to advise the Minister accordingly. The State Claims Agency met representatives of the association on 25 June last year and listened carefully to its position. The agency has expressed its willingness to meet again with the groups representing survivors of thalidomide, following which it will report to the Minister. Any proposal arising out of this process will need to be considered by Government.

The thalidomide product sold in Ireland was manufactured by Chemie Grunenthal — a German company. An offer of compensation made in 1970 by the German manufacturers of thalidomide applied to Irish children. The German compensation, paid through a statutory foundation set up for the purpose, was in the form of a lump sum and a monthly allowance for life. The foundation is funded by a covenant from the German drugs manufacturer. The Irish Government decided in 1974 to augment the compensation provided by the German foundation. The decision was to provide a lump sum of four times the German amount and a monthly allowance for life, which was equivalent to the German allowance, to each Irish survivor of thalidomide. The lump sum paid by the Irish Government in 1975 ranged from €6,400 to €21,200.

There are currently 32 Irish survivors of thalidomide. The Irish allowance is paid by the Department of Health and Children. The total annual payment received by survivors including the German payment is currently up to €28,500 per annum. The majority of Irish survivors receive the maximum amount. The monthly allowance is tax-free and is not reckonable for State benefits. Each individual is automatically entitled to a medical card.

The Government accepts the concerns expressed by the Irish survivors of thalidomide regarding their continuing and increasing health needs as they get older. The Minister awaits receipt of the report of the State Claims Agency.

Health Services.

Deputy Jan O’Sullivan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's Office for selecting my Adjournment matter for discussion. I have tabled this matter today as we have received notice through the media of substantial industrial action commencing on Monday next, 1 March. I am seeking an assurance from the Minister of State that the Government has a plan of action to protect patients in the health services in the context of the proposed action. I also seek clarity from the Minister of State in regard to exactly what will happen; what discussions have been held between Government and representatives of the workers concerned and what information in this regard is available to the Government.

Clearly, the people most affected by this strike action will be patients and their families. It is stated in today's newspapers that a letter from IMPACT states the actions will include, refusal to take on work associated with all vacant posts; refusal to participant in work associated with the HSE's reconfiguration of services; a third proposed action in respect of political representations and refusal to answer telephones, including mobile phones for specific periods on a rotating basis. I would like clarification from the Minister of State in regard to exactly what this means. There are currently many vacant posts in the health services owing to the moratorium and as such the action in this regard could affect a wide range of services. Also, the reconfiguration is fairly embedded, in particular in my own region in the mid-west and in other parts of the country. It is important we know exactly of what the Government is aware in terms of what will happen and that there is absolute protection for patients to ensure this does not affect them and that they receive the services they need be they availing of hospital or any other services under the HSE. I would like the Minister of State to inform the House of the Government's plan of action to ensure the system works appropriately and that patients are protected.

I want to put on record that an opportunity existed to get an agreed programme of action in terms of reform of the system and of achieving substantial savings within the health services. Unfortunately, this opportunity was not taken up as the Government pulled out of talks in advance of the budget and decided on straightforward pay cuts rather than a negotiated agreement. I know from speaking with some of the representatives who were at the table that night that there was substantial agreement between the representatives of the health service workers and representatives of Government which would have achieved the fiscal savings required and would also have achieved a substantial plan of reform of the health services, which we all know is absolutely necessary. However, the opportunity to do so was missed. Now, rather than being well under way in terms of reforms, we are facing industrial action, which I understand will be escalated.

It is accepted reform will not happen in the immediate future and there is a danger that patients will be affected by industrial action. It is hoped that the Minister of State can inform the House of what will happen next Monday and what plans and procedures the Government has in place in this regard. In the longer term, we need to re-engage with workers. There are, however, certain conditions that will have to be met for that to happen. We need to return to the process of reform of the health services. I believe we could have a much more efficient and effective system if there was co-operation all round. It is my firm belief that such co-operation was available prior to the budget announced before Christmas. Unfortunately, that co-operation is not on the table now.

Deputy Áine Brady

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for giving me this opportunity to outline the Government's plans to protect patients in the context of the proposed escalation of industrial action across the health service next week. I also take this opportunity to speak in general terms about the ongoing industrial action underway across the entire public service.

The HSE received notice on 22 February from the trade union IMPACT of its intention to intensify its industrial action with effect from Monday next, 1 March.

The HSE was informed that, in addition to their existing actions, IMPACT members would refuse to take on work relating to any vacancy, not just those which have become vacant since the general industrial action commenced on 25 January 2010; refuse to participate in all work relating to the HSE's reconfiguration programme; refuse to deal with all political representations, including parliamentary questions and freedom of information requests; and refuse to answer telephones, including mobile telephones, for specified periods of time to be advised by the union with little advance notice to management. This will apply unless a specific derogation for emergency cover has been agreed with the union.

It is difficult at this point to know what the effect of these actions will be, but, obviously, the health service employers are very concerned about the potential impact that this intensification of the industrial action could have on services and patient safety. A meeting has been organised by the HSE with IMPACT tomorrow to clarify the nature of the action proposed and to seek derogations where it would be likely to affect patient safety.

The Minister's main concern is to ensure that the effect of the dispute on patient care is minimised as much as possible and so far this has been achieved. The HSE and the Department of Health and Children are monitoring the evolving situation carefully, in close co-operation with the Department of Finance.

There is no doubt that, following a period of rapid increases in funding, the health services are now facing the challenge of managing within much tighter resource constraints. There is scope within our health system, by reforming the way services are delivered, to achieve more through greater efficiency and concentrating on services that contribute most to people's health and well-being. There is an onus on all concerned — Government, management, trade unions and employees — to find a way of engaging on the reforms which are needed to deliver better services to patients.

Deputy Jan O’Sullivan

It does not seem as though there is a plan in place.

Court Accommodation.

Deputy John Perry

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this matter to be raised. I will be sharing time with Deputy Scanlon. Both of us see the importance of court in Ballymote that has served the people of the area for up to 100 years. I am glad to have the opportunity to raise this matter of the utmost importance.

It has come to light that the Courts Service of Ireland is considering closing Ballymote District Court on a permanent basis as part of its cost cutting measures. I want to make it clear to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, that any such attempt at closure of Ballymote District Court would be a retrograde step of the most serious nature. Furthermore, such a proposal makes absolutely no economic sense. Some €4.8 million has been spent on the construction and provision of a new Garda station in Ballymote, which is the district Garda headquarters, on which I compliment the Government. The new station has state-of-the-art prisoner accommodation, which includes a new juvenile detention centre, the only one of its kind in the entire Garda division of Sligo-Leitrim. Juvenile offenders from all parts of the division who are placed in custody are detained in the Ballymote facility.

There is a 24-hour garda presence, together with new traffic corps and detective unit, with offices and facilities in place to accommodate the upgraded status of Ballymote Garda station. It also houses the only divisional store for the Sligo-Leitrim division.

Acting Chairman

The Deputy has one minute remaining.

Deputy John Perry

In this context, the removal of Ballymote District Court from the town would be a decision of the most short-sighted and ludicrous nature. It would clearly undermine and interfere with the smooth operation of the Garda station. There is no joined-up thinking in this regard. It would take gardaí away from their communities for unnecessarily long periods of time and undermine the concept of community policing.

The Courts Service proposes that Ballymote District Court would either be moved to Sligo or sit in Tubbercurry, amalgamated with Tubbercurry District Court. As Deputy Scanlon will agree, this is a very large district. If the court moves to Sligo, all of the gardaí based in Ballymote district would have to travel to Sligo to have their cases heard, resulting in considerable expense to the State in respect of travel, overtime and subsistence, which makes no sense whatever.

The proposal to merge Ballymote and Tubbercurry District Courts is a totally unviable solution. With the abolition in recent times of Riverstown District Court and the inclusion of additional court areas in Ballymote, there has been a great increase in the number of cases being dealt with.

Acting Chairman

The Deputy's time has expired.

Deputy John Perry

I ask the Acting Chairman to let me finish, please. While upgrade works are clearly required on Ballymote court facilities, at a time when more than €200 million has been spent on a new criminal court building in Dublin, €50,000 is all it would take to bring Ballymote's court facility back to acceptable standards.

This proposal from the Courts Service has clearly not been thought through. It is an attempt at short-sighted book-keeping due to budgetary shortfalls. I can assure the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that any proposal to remove Ballymote District Court would completely undermine the status of the town and will be met by the sternest of opposition. This evening I call for a meeting with the director of the Courts Service along with Deputy Scanlon and representatives of the legal profession to ensure that this closure will not happen.

Acting Chairman

I call Deputy Scanlon, who has 1.5 minutes.

Deputy Eamon Scanlon

I take it that the Acting Chairman will give me a little bit of grace on this issue.

Deputy John Perry

What is an extra minute here this evening?

Deputy Eamon Scanlon

It is an important issue and I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on it. As Deputy Perry said, Ballymote court has been operating for more than 100 years. Quite recently a new Garda headquarters was built in Ballymote at a cost of almost €5 million. At the moment there are 34 gardaí, four sergeants and one superintendent. It covers a vast area from Enniscrone right across to Carrick-on-Shannon in the south. The courts operate on every second Tuesday and, at certain times of the year, every fourth Tuesday, with a total of 18 court sittings per year. The last court sitting in Ballymote started at 11 a.m. and finished at 7 p.m., which indicates the level of activity owing to the number of courts that have been moved to the Ballymote area.

I understand the court is proposed to be closed for cost-saving reasons. It is important to point out that the Courts Service is totally independent of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. While I have heard of many cost-saving proposals, this is the most ludicrous I have heard in my time in politics for the past 21 years. When the courts move, the gardaí will need to move with the court, which will mean overtime payments for those gardaí who will need to travel to Tubbercurry or Sligo. It will cost substantially more than the savings expected to be made with the current proposals.

The new Garda station has cells and a juvenile detention centre — the only one of its kind in the county. To move the court away from where we have these services and facilities would be a backward step. I implore the Minister to use whatever influence he has to try to get these people to see some sense. Funding should be made available for the upgrade of what is a very historic building in the town, which will go into disrepair without such funding.

Deputy Áine Brady

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern. I thank Deputies Perry and Scanlon for raising this important issue.

The Minister would like to state, from the outset, that the Courts Service, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, is responsible for the operational management and maintenance of courthouse facilities and, as Minister, he has no function in respect of courthouse accommodation. Court venues around the country are being reviewed by the Courts Service as part of an overall review of the management and structures of the service and its use of resources. The review applies criteria including facilities for court users, demographic changes, levels of business, proximity to other venues and the standard of court accommodation in the venue under consideration as well as the proposed alternate venue. The review is being carried out in the context of the current economic climate and the budgetary and staffing constraints under which the Courts Service is operating. The overall objective of the review is to ensure that resources are deployed to best effect, optimum services are provided to court users, courts sit in venues with appropriate facilities and value for money is achieved.

The Minister is informed by the Courts Service that no decision has yet been taken on Ballymote courthouse. With regard to the impact on Garda resources it should be noted that at present when the court sits in a given venue all of the gardaí who have business before the court must be at the court. When venues are amalgamated, the court business can be spread over several different days in the new venue so any negative impact on the number of gardaí available for duty could actually be decreased. Generally the business can be assimilated into the list in the new venue so the pressure on all gardaí to be available for the same day can be reduced. The Minister has been informed by the Garda Commissioner that as of 31 January 2010, the personnel strength of the Ballymote Garda district was 46. The personnel strength of that district at the end of January 2008 was 35, that is, an increase of over 30% in the last two years.

Ballymote forms part of the Sligo-Leitrim division and, as at 31 January 2010, the strength of that division was 317. In addition, divisional resources are augmented where necessary by a number of Garda national units such as the Garda Traffic Unit, Garda National Drugs Unit, the Garda National Immigration Bureau, the Criminal Assets Bureau and other specialised units.

It is the responsibility of the Garda divisional officer to allocate personnel within his or her division. Notwithstanding this, the level of Garda personnel assigned throughout the country, together with overall policing arrangements and operational strategy, are continually monitored and reviewed. Such monitoring ensures that optimum use is made of Garda resources, and the best possible Garda service is provided to the general public.

It is the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner to allocate personnel throughout the force taking everything into account and the situation in the Ballymote Garda district will be kept under review. The Minister is advised by the Garda authorities that local Garda management is satisfied that a full and comprehensive policing service is being delivered to the communities within the Ballymote Garda district.

Passport Controls.

Deputy Joe Costello

I am delighted to have the opportunity of speaking on the Adjournment and I am equally pleased that the Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, Deputy Roche, is present.

The assassination of the Hamas leader, Mahmoud al Mabhouh, on 20 January in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates has had serious repercussions in Ireland and worldwide. Initially, it was thought that the assassination squad consisted of five people using fake passports. Now it transpires that there were at least 26 involved. There were at least six fake Irish passports and a further 20 fake passports of British, German, French and now Australian citizens.

The recent disclosure that the passport identities of Australian citizens were stolen has resulted in the most forceful response to date. The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs immediately summoned the Israeli ambassador and the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, went on the national and international media and announced that if the use or forgery of Australian passports was demonstrated to have been sponsored or condoned by Israeli officials or agencies, then Israel would be deemed to be an unfriendly country. That was putting it very forthrightly.

Neither Ireland nor the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting during the week has been so forthright. The Israeli ambassador to Ireland and the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister have both refused to deny or confirm that the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, was involved. The statement emanating from the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers during the week made no mention at all of the prime suspect, Israel. The statement by Catherine Ashton, the new High Representative for Foreign Affairs, condemning the killing as not "conducive" to peace and stability in the Middle East was simply ridiculous. No further action has been taken by Ireland or the EU, and to my mind that is not good enough.

I believe that there should be a full scale debate in the Dáil next week on the serious threat to the integrity of the Irish passport and the welfare of Irish citizens travelling abroad to give Deputies from all sides of the House an opportunity to express their views in the matter. Ireland should send a special Garda investigation team to Dubai to investigate at first hand the role of the fake Irish passports in the assassination there. Ireland did that when on 5 or 6 January we had the exercise in explosives which failed. The Slovakian authorities were guilty of some very poor efforts in testing explosives, which eventually ended up in the Irish jurisdiction. We spent a special investigation team to look into the matter and are awaiting its report. the same should be done as regards the assassination in Dubai. We should send a special Garda investigation team there too.

The authorities in the United Arab Emirates have stated that they are 99% certain that Israel and Mossad were behind the assassination. The Taoiseach should inform the Israeli ambassador that without a categorical denial of involvement Ireland can no longer consider Israel to be a friendly country, with all the implications that would have for travel, trade and diplomatic relations. Finally, in the long term we should look into the whole area of passports, particularly in view of the widespread forgery of passports internationally. An international treaty should be drawn up under the auspices of the United Nations which would provide for the proper use and protection of passports. Ireland should sponsor that treaty, in the event.

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Deputy Dick Roche)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which as he is said, is most serious. The Government and the Irish people value our passport and the sovereignty it represents.

The first indication the Government received of the use of false Irish passports by the killers of Mr. al Mabhouh was on 4 February, when local press reports stated that several suspects were believed to have entered Dubai on Irish passports. The Irish ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Ciarán Madden, immediately contacted the UAE Foreign Ministry to seek clarification, and has been in virtual daily contact with it ever since.

On 15 February, the Dubai chief of police gave a news conference during which he gave details of three fake Irish passports. The initial press reports contained inaccurate passport numbers and it was only following clarification by the Dubai authorities — who are to be congratulated on their thoroughness — that we were in a position to identify the passport numbers used. The Department of Foreign Affairs, in co-operation with the Garda, immediately commenced an investigation, which included making contact with the Irish citizens whose passport numbers had been stolen.

The Dubai police have so far shared with us the details of six fraudulent Irish passports which it claims were used by persons involved in the killing and we have passed these on to the Garda. The Garda is liaising with the police forces of the other affected countries, and Interpol. Ambassador Madden continues to maintain almost daily contact with the UAE Foreign Ministry and the Dubai police, in addition to liaising with other embassies in the UAE.

The Government does not have categorical proof of who was responsible for the counterfeit, but like the Deputy and everybody else, we have our suspicions. However, the killing of Mr. al Mabhouh is believed by many, including the Dubai police chief, as likely to have been the responsibility of the Israeli state security agency, Mossad. Israel has not denied that Mossad was responsible but has stated that there is no hard proof that it was.

On Monday 22 February the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin met with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Avigdor Lieberman, in Brussels, conveyed to him directly the Government's concerns and said that we were treating the misuse of Irish passports very seriously. He said that we hoped Israel would co-operate fully with the investigations under way and provide any information available. He also asked him for assurances that the Israeli authorities were not involved. Mr. Lieberman said that he had no information on the matter. While in Brussels, the Minister and I attended a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, after which Ministers issued a statement strongly condemning the fraudulent use of EU passports.

In addition, our ambassador to Israel has met with the Europe Director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and registered Ireland's serious concern about the security and integrity of Irish passports and the possibility of their being used by anyone other than the lawful holder. The Israeli ambassador to Ireland was called to Iveagh House last week where senior officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs stressed the seriousness with which the Government viewed the matter. The ambassador undertook to relay the messages he had received to his authorities.

The Israeli Embassy have been provided with copies of all six forged Irish passports used by the alleged assassins and requested to seek the assistance of the Israeli authorities in identifying the persons whose photographs appear on the passports. The Minister has also discussed the situation with British Foreign Secretary, Mr. David Miliband, and we have agreed to co-operate closely and share information. Our embassies in Berlin, Paris and London remain in close contact with the Foreign Ministries of those countries. We are also liaising very closely with the Australians in view of the announcement yesterday that fake Australian passports were used.

On Friday last, the Minister, Deputy Martin, spoke to the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister, Sheikh Zayed, and assured him of Ireland's co-operation. Ambassador Madden has kept in continuous contact with the UAE authorities.

I wish to state clearly that the Irish passports used by the alleged assassins were fake. They were not produced by our Passport Office. Importantly, the assassins used real passport numbers belonging to innocent Irish people, something which could have had serious consequences for those people had they been travelling abroad at the time. Other than the passport numbers and the expiry dates, everything else about these passports was fake. Those involved used forged identities, signatures and photographs.

In recent years, there has been a very significant investment to enhance the security features of the Irish passport. It is significant that in all six cases the fake passports were based on the old pre-2005 Irish passport. Since then, Irish passports have been made of polycarbonate and, since 2006, they have included a biometric chip.

Our primary focus has been to guarantee the security of the Irish citizens affected. We have now spoken to all citizens who hold or held passports with the numbers provided by the Dubai authorities. We have provided those Irish citizens with new passports. Given that it was solely the number of their passports involved rather than their identities, I am satisfied that having received new passports they will be no longer in danger. They were definitely put in danger by the people who used the fake passports in this case.

On behalf of the innocent individuals and all Irish passport holders, my Department is determined to uncover the truth of the situation. It is unacceptable that these totally innocent citizens could have been placed in danger by the irresponsible actions of others, especially the irresponsible actions of a State. The use of Irish passports is not the action one would expect from a nation that enjoys friendly relations with this country.

I maintain that Ireland — I speak not only for the Government because I am confident I speak for all parties in the House — deplores the extra-judicial murder of Mahmoud al Mabhouh. His murder was wrong in law and it was silly and stupid politically. Regardless of what he is alleged to have done, his killing will not bring peace to the Middle East but serve to create yet another martyr whose death, regrettably, will inspire others to follow the path of senseless violence. Regardless of those who were responsible, Ireland takes the gravest exception to the forgery and misuse of its passports. The people take an understandable pride in our passport, which is widely respected worldwide. It is unacceptable that the Irish passport has been denigrated and besmirched by being falsely deployed as camouflage for a team of assassins. Whoever is responsible for having sullied Ireland's reputation in this way has not acted as we might expect our friends to act.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.25 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 2 March 2010.