Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 November 2015
66. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Defence if he is aware of the vigil which took place on 11 November 2015 at Merrion Square in Dublin 2 in support of serving and former Defence Forces members who claim to have been affected after taking Lariam; if he will meet the Action Lariam for Irish Soldiers group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41391/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 11 November, I attended a vigil in Merrion Square in support of serving and former Defence Forces members who claimed to have been affected by the anti-malarial drug Lariam. It was a moving ceremony and I heard disturbing stories from those present. I heard from former members who were still struggling with the negative effects that they believed had ruined their lives and from the parents of former soldiers who blamed Lariam for the suicides of their loved ones. Will the Minister consider meeting the Action Lariam for Irish Soldiers group to discuss these issues openly?
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which Deputy Clare Daly has also raised repeatedly and on which she has submitted another question for later today. I am aware that the vigil took place. Since then, I have received a letter from the group seeking a meeting. I am more than happy to meet it. I will respond to it in the coming days and set up a meeting before Christmas.
Since our last Question Time, I have held a detailed and long meeting on Lariam with our entire team in the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces, including the Chief Medical Officer and the other policy and medical experts and personnel. Following that Question Time, I met someone who had been affected by Lariam and subsequently put many of the questions that arose then to our experts to try to get answers. I will happily meet people who believe that they have been the victims of the consequence of taking Lariam as an anti-malarial drug.
My only objective is to try to do the right thing to protect the health of our Defence Forces personnel while they are abroad in areas that are affected by malaria. It is a serious risk, as malaria is a killer and we need to protect our troops from it. How to do that and what drug to use are questions of judgment and medical assessment, that is, the screening process that people go through individually before being prescribed Lariam. I will refer to this matter again. Our expert group has been reconvened to examine our policy on Lariam. We are considering what is being done internationally. I expect the group to report to me around the end of January.
I have no tie to Lariam. My only concern is to do what is right for our troops by taking the best possible medical advice and learning from the experiences of the many people who have been involved in making that decision. I suspect that I will have to answer more questions on this matter.
We are all on the same page.
The reason the questions are being asked continually is that we are all concerned about soldiers who have been affected negatively by the drug. One question they ask is whether the Minister is satisfied that, in all circumstances in which personnel have been asked to take Lariam, they have been given complete information on the possible side-effects.
The Minister mentioned the inquiry group. We approached this during our last Question Time and the Minister said he was establishing the group. That is positive news for all those who have been affected. In the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions, there are ongoing inquiries. Has the Minister been following them? In the Irish case, the group is to sit privately to consider the matter, but in the United Kingdom, for instance, there is an open inquiry. Has the Minister considered having an open inquiry? Does he believe the route he is taking is quicker or more successful?
As with all such matters, people express concern that the first priority of the State or Departments seems to be to protect the system where difficult events have occurred. An example is institutional abuse. Will the Minister consider opening up the inquiry so the public can see what is going on?
First, it is not an inquiry; it is a working group of experts that is to make recommendations to me on the continuing use, or otherwise, of Lariam as an effective antimalarial drug. Some 1 million people die in sub-Saharan Africa each year from malaria. It poses a very serious risk to military personnel when they are serving in that region. We have choices. Approximately three drugs are available that could be used to protect serving personnel abroad from malaria. None of them is without issues and problems. There is no simple solution. Nobody is denying that some people have negative side effects when they take Lariam. However, it is a matter of weighing up risk factors to protect people from a very serious disease and at the same time doing everything we can, within reason, to screen people to ensure they are suitable candidates for Lariam before they take it. A number of people have not travelled abroad because they were deemed unsuitable on screening. Therefore, they do not get placed on overseas missions.
This is not about an inquiry but about a medical assessment by a group of experts, both national and international, examining all the work that has been done internationally on this since the last time it reported. It is to make a sensible medical recommendation to me. It is not about having an inquiry.
There is certainly an inquiry on the impact of Lariam. It is not only about those who are currently affected but also about the future of Lariam prescription in the Defence Forces.
The Minister is considering whether to send more Irish troops to Mali after France invoked a mutual defence clause under the Lisbon treaty. We opposed that whole element when it was being negotiated. If the Minister gets Cabinet and Dáil approval and more troops are sent to Mali, will they be taking Lariam, or will they have another option? I have read articles and advice by highly respected doctors stating that there are equally effective and much safer alternatives. The Minister is saying the matter is still under review, but I am worried about the next batch coming down the track and what we will do about it. Will the personnel be given options in this regard?
We have had troops going to various parts of the world for 58 years. If we are to send more troops to any part of the world - we have not decided to do this, so let us not start overstepping the mark - we will have to go through the usual procedures for assessment and reconnaissance.
We will also have to go through a triple-lock decision-making process, as is appropriate. In addition, we will have to ensure that it is consistent with what we want to do from a foreign policy and defence policy perspective and in a way that is consistent with neutrality.
I am answering a question on the Mali issue later on, but whenever we send troops to parts of the world that have a malaria problem we have to make the appropriate assessments to ensure that we try to protect them as best we can. There is no distinction between officers and ranks, which is a suggestion that was made previously. I asked that question forcefully and I got a forceful response. This is purely about screening, assessing and trying to protect people as best we can, given the drugs options that are there. As regards any doctor that suggested to the Deputy that there is some kind of simple solution and that we should just switch to another drug, I suggest that it is not as straightforward as that from a medical point of view.
