I welcome an esteemed visitor to the Gallery, Finola Cassidy, who is here representing the Irish Thalidomide Association. She is a constituent of mine and somebody the Taoiseach has also met. I pay tribute to Finola for her campaigning and advocacy work over many years. She was, as the Taoiseach knows, a central contributor to last night's powerful "Scannal" documentary which aired on RTÉ 1 about the thalidomide scandal.

The airing of that documentary came at a timely moment because next month marks the 61st anniversary of the international withdrawal of the drug thalidomide. It was removed from the market internationally in 1961 due to the number of babies who were being born with catastrophic or very serious disabilities to women who had been prescribed the drug while pregnant to treat symptoms. In this State, even after international withdrawal, the drug continued to be prescribed for some time, causing severe harm to many children who are now adults. Even children whose mothers only took the drug for one or two days suffered severe harm as a consequence.

We know from the powerful documentary and other sources that Government documents at the time show that authorities had considered making a public announcement earlier on the risks associated with the drug and did not do so. It remained in circulation for far too long in Ireland after international withdrawal. The reason can only be assumed or surmised. Clearly, the State bears responsibility for what happened to those children at the time and their mothers and families.

The mothers and children, in particular, who were harmed by a negligent Government are still waiting for an acknowledgement of the wrong done to them and a formal State apology. They were offered compensation by a Fianna Fáil Government in 2009 and I know there have been meetings since then. The Taoiseach has met survivors, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, met Finola Cassidy this morning. However, there has been no official attempt to address the stalemate in the situation. Over decades, the money and packages offered by Governments have not come near enough to meet the real cost of the harm caused and the life-changing disabilities experienced by so many survivors. I pay tribute to those survivors who continue to campaign on this.

Last year, the Minister for Health told the Dáil that work was under way to bring forward a Bill to provide health and personal supports to thalidomide survivors, but we have heard nothing since then. We know the State has been dragging out a defence in High Court proceedings ongoing on this issue. Earlier this year, I sought the support of Government parties for a cross-party motion on support for thalidomide survivors. I renew my appeal because I did not get support from Government parties.

I ask the Taoiseach to take the lead, in the last few months of his role at Taoiseach, fix the stalemate, ensure the State acknowledges the wrong done to thalidomide survivors and parents, issue an apology and ensure that an adequate compensation and healthcare package is offered to those survivors who are now at an age where they desperately need supports.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I met Finola Cassidy and the Irish Thalidomide Association representatives, along with their legal representatives, in my office a couple of weeks ago. It was a good meeting. I listened very carefully to the concerns expressed. There has been a long history of interventions by Governments in respect of this issue and the people involved. Supports have been provided by previous Governments, and continue to be provided, in terms of monthly payments, eligibility for health services and so on. As the Deputy knows, the company the Contergan Foundation provides payments. There is an issue there that we need to work out. Anything additional done by the State should not result in liability on the foundation being taken back; in other words, it should not result in there being no net gain to thalidomide survivors.

During the meeting we teased out a number of approaches that we could take to try to resolve these issues. The Government is not dragging anything out. There are contested issues around liability on this. Ex gratia payments and so on were made and additional financial assistance was provided in 2010, but arguments have been put forward that they were not of a sufficient scale or the circumstances or context of how those payments were made were not optimal or appropriate. Those arguments have been made to me and to the Minister for Health.

We discussed a number of broad areas. First, there should be a very comprehensive health package. That is one area we said we would discuss. There seems to be some uncertainty around what is available and what, potentially, could be available. We also discussed independent support as people go on in life and broader issues.

The idea emerged from the meeting that we may develop a mediation approach, in the first instance, to tease out a number of issues. I have reverted to the Minister and had discussions with him and the Attorney General on this. I will be back to the Irish Thalidomide Association in response to a proposal that was put on the table as to how we could engage in a meaningful process to try to resolve this issue once and for all.

I thank the Taoiseach for his response but he might clarify when he will get back to the Irish Thalidomide Association. It has been waiting for a long time. It is very anxious, in particular, about the few mothers who are still left alive. They are owed an apology by the State and an acknowledgement of the wrong done to them because many mothers and women who had babies who were born with disabilities as a result of thalidomide are themselves feeling guilty. That is utterly unacceptable.

It is very clear, from the programme last night and what we know, that the State bears responsibility. The State bore a particular responsibility after the international withdrawal of the drug. That has never been formally acknowledged. We need to see an acknowledgement and apology and a decent, suitable and specific healthcare package and compensation offered. That has never been forthcoming from the Government.

I ask that the Taoiseach, in the last few months in his role, seek to resolve this damage. Only a small number of survivors are involved in this. Finola Cassidy is such a powerful spokesperson for those individuals who have been done such wrong by the State and others. They were undoubtedly done wrong by the German manufacturer as well, but let us do what we can to put things right. I will renew my appeal for cross-party support for a motion and for the Government to step up and offer a decent package to thalidomide survivors.

I fully accept the Deputy's right to put forward a cross-party motion but, in my experience, where one has a legal process and a political process, someone has to represent the broad issue as well. The optimal way to resolve this is to get into a meaningful process and tease through all of the issues. The ultimate liability, never forget, is with the company involved. Legislation was passed, as the Deputy is aware, in Germany which allows for the Contergan Foundation to make payments to thalidomide survivors. We want to make absolutely sure that whatever we do does not in any way result - legislation was passed more recently - in any contributions we make simply being subtracted from the contributions that foundation makes. Legal clarity is being sought on that and it is something that is important and cannot be dismissed. Payments continue to be made. I am open to getting this resolved as quickly as we can. I would like to do so but previous experience shows that we should get into a process to get it resolved. I am willing to do that and I will be back to the representatives on this within the next two weeks.