Apology, Provision & Acknowledgement For Thalidomide Survivors

The thalidomide catastrophe was not inevitable. Early warning signswere ignored and even after it was known, the Irish Government delayedin withdrawing the drug.

We, the undersigned call on the Government of Ireland to begin aneffective dialogue with the Irish Thalidomide Association immediately.We want to ensure that the wrong that occurred by licensing the drugThalidomide is righted.

We call on Brian Cowen, An Taoiseach, to personally and sincerelyapologise to the living survivors, and to the families of those whohaven't survived.

We also call on our Taoiseach to escalate the process of revision ofthe inadequate and shameful 1975 thalidomidearrangement so that adequate provision can now bemade for the future of thalidomide survivors in Ireland.

Finally, we demand that there is immediate voluntary disclosure ofdocuments relating to thalidomide is granted to the Irish ThalidomideAssociation.