Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 January 2021
255. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the pharmaceutical companies involved in non-consensual medical trials in mother and baby homes have liabilities for these actions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3180/21]
View answerThe Commission’s Terms of Reference require it to establish the extent of compliance with relevant regulatory and ethical standards of the time of systemic vaccine trials found to have been conducted on children in one or more of the homes.
In its Final Report, the Commission has identified a total of seven vaccine trials which took place in the institutions under investigation in the period 1934-1973 and has identified a number of the children involved. It has stated that it is clear that there was not compliance with the relevant regulatory and ethical standards of the time as consent was not obtained from either the mothers of the children or their guardians and the necessary licences were not in place.
The Minister is giving further detailed consideration to the chapter of the Commission's Report concerning vaccination trials.
