Government accused of not apologising for State role in prolonging access to drug after worldwide ban
Irish survivors of thalidomide marking the 60th anniversary of the international withdrawal of the drug at the Dáil in 2021. Photograph: Nick Bradshawsurvivors have said they are “devastated and so hurt” that the Government statement this week saying sorry for the hardships they suffered was not the apology they were looking for.There had been engagement between Government representatives and thalidomide survivors from April 2023, though talks have since broken down.
Thalidomide was introduced as a drug for morning sickness in the mid-1950s, but was withdrawn from most markets worldwide in 1961 after widespread evidence of birth defects. Yet it was retained on the shelves in Ireland until 1964. “They have to say that they own this. I have stood in front of many of the Cabinet. There isn’t anybody I know who does not acknowledge the State’s role in this tragedy,” she said.
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