Coalition working on vaccine compensation scheme, says Taoiseach

The Ministers for Justice and Health are working on a vaccine compensation scheme, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

Mr Martin was speaking in the Dáil as he was challenged about the indemnity offered to pharmaceutical companies developing the Covid-19 vaccine.

He said the Cabinet agreed a compensation scheme would be developed after considering the Meenan report on an alternative system for dealing with claims arising from the CervicalCheck controversy.

He also said indemnity to pharmaceutical companies was “open ended”, that the EU Commission had entered into advance purchase agreements with the companies on behalf of member states.

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Each state is required “to provide legal support costs and payment of claims arising from any damages associated with administration of the vaccine”, Mr Martin said.

He said rollout strategy for the vaccine was endorsed by Cabinet on Tuesday.

Independent TD Catherine Connolly warned that people need to trust the system to take the vaccine and that had to be based on “transparency and facts”.

“What are the details of the indemnity given to the companies and what about a proper system of compensation for the group of people who may suffer, or will suffer from the Covid-19 vaccine?” she asked.

Ms Connolly criticised what she said was a lack of information. “We’re reliant on jigsaw pieces from newspapers,” she added. “I’m looking at a distorted jigsaw picture of an indemnity and a complete lack of action in relation to an independent compensation system.”

She said the Meenan report had been on the Taoiseach’s desk for months and nothing had been done by Government on the compensation scheme referenced by Mr Martin.

And she told the Taoiseach that “if you want us to work with you” on the Covid-19 vaccine “stop the snide comments, stop the joking and let’s deal with the issue and the facts”.

Ms Connolly said that when Mr Martin was asked about the indemnity previously by another TD he replied they should “get real” and that this was a pandemic. She said “absolutely no information was given to TDs in relation to the amount of money gone into the development of the vaccine”.

But the Taoiseach insisted that “at no stage have I got personal on this issue”.

He said that perhaps the most important thing is to agree to depoliticise the entire vaccination issue.He said chairman of the vaccine strategy committee Prof Brian MacCraith and senior officials would be before the Oireachtas health committee on Wednesday,

“The essential theme of the strategy is transparency, openness and informed consent. Nothing will be hidden,” he said. “The personnel involved at the highest level are open to answer questions.”

European co-operation

He stressed that this European co-operation was “far better than was ever attempted before In the histories of states working together”.

Up to now the “pharmaceutical companies would have been producing them on their own and charging highest price to the highest bidder”, he said.

Mr Martin added: “That’s what you would have had if you didn’t have a co-ordinated European advanced purchasing agreement” through the commission.

Earlier he told Independent TD Peter Fitzpatrick that nobody had signalled any correlation between testing centres and a higher rate of incidence of Covid-19 in surrounding areas.

Mr Fitzpatrick expressed concern that Ardee in his Louth constituency had one of the highest rates of coronavirus and it was where a test centre was located.

People expressed concern that those going for tests might be going to local shopping centres and that could be contributing to the the high rate of cases.

Mr Martin said he would ask the chief medical officer and Health Service Executive about the issue.