skip to main content

SCANNAL

SCANNAL THALIDOMIDE STILL - JOHN STACK WITH MUM, AUNT AND UNCLE Image Name: SCANNAL THALIDOMIDE STILL - JOHN STACK WITH MUM, AUNT AND UNCLE
SCANNAL THALIDOMIDE STILL - 1966 FINOLA CASSIDYAND MUM Image Name: SCANNAL THALIDOMIDE STILL - 1966 FINOLA CASSIDYAND MUM
SCANNAL THALIDOMIDE - FIONAL AND MUM Image Name: SCANNAL THALIDOMIDE - FIONAL AND MUM

SCANNAL: THALIDOMIDE

Déanfar cur síos sa dara clár sa tsraith nua de Scannal ar an scéal a bhain leis an scannal tailidimíde – a mheasann go leor é a bheith ar an scannal leighis is measa riamh ar domhan – agus mar a tháinig an scannal chun solais in Éirinn.

Meastar go raibh tionchar ag tailidimíd ar bhreis is 100,000 bean a bhí ag iompar clainne ar fud an domhain sular baineadh an druga den mhargadh idirnáisiúnta sa deireadh thiar thall i mí na Samhna 1961. Mar sin féin, bheadh sé 7 mí eile sula ngníomhódh údaráis na hÉireann agus an druga fós ar fáil thar an gcuntar bliain ina dhiaidh sin.

Sa chlár seo ón tsraith staire sóisialta mór le rá Scannal, déanfaidh daoine as Éirinn atá fós ag maireachtáil leis an tionchar a bhí ag Tailidimíd orthu agus teaghlaigh na n-íospartach cur síos ar an tionchar a bhí ag an scannal seo ar a saol – agus ar na deicheanna de bhlianta atá caite acu ag iarraidh ceart a fháil.

Nuair a thug Mary Clarken as Port Laoise a hiníon Sharon ar an saol i 1962, rugadh í le lámh mhíchumtha. ‘Táibléad beag bídeach amháin a bhí tógtha agam. D’fhéadfadh an táibléad beag bídeach sin an oiread damáiste a dhéanamh” a deir Mary Clarken.

I mBaile Átha Cliath, ghlac máthair Finola Cassidy í féin Tailidimíd agus gan aon ní ar eolas aici faoi na hiarmhairtí tromchúiseacha a bheadh i gceist. Dúirt sise, ‘B’fhéidir gur thóg mo mháthair dhá tháibléad, ar an 22ú lá den toircheas seans, agus b’in é an uair a bhí mo chuid lámh ag forbairt.

Bhain sé geit ollmhór aisti. Baisteadh mé sa bharda breithe. Cheap siad nach mairfinn.”

Is é John Stack, feirmeoir as Ciarraí, an duine is óige sa tír seo atá ag maireachtáil le tionchar Tailidimíde. Rugadh John in Eanáir 1963 agus thóg a mháthair tailidimíd seacht mí i ndiaidh na tréimhse ba cheart don druga a bheith bainte de mhargadh na hÉireann. ‘Chaithfeadh sé gur thóg mo mháthair é timpeall ar mhí an Mheithimh i 1962. Bhí sé in ainm is a bheith bainte den tseilf, ach ní raibh’, a deir John Stack.

Díoladh Tailidimíd faoi ainmneacha éagsúla brandaí in Éirinn ach ba é Softenon an ceann ba mhó a raibh éileamh air. Murab ionann le tíortha eile, ní raibh oideas dochtúra ag teastáil anseo, agus dá réir bhí mná Éireannacha a raibh tinneas maidine orthu ábalta earraí tailidimíde a cheannach thar an gcuntar sna cógaslanna.

Bhí tailidimíd ar cheann de na drugaí ba mhó díolta ar domhan ag an am. Bhí aon mhilliún dáileog den druga á dhíol sa Ghearmáin in aghaidh an lae agus sa bhliain 1961 díoladh breis is 51,000 paicéad Softenon in Éirinn.

Ach i ngan fhios do na mílte ban a bhí ag iompar clainne agus a bhí ag tógáil tailidimíde, bhí líon na bpáistí a bhí ag teacht ar an saol le míchumaí ag ardú mar aon le huimhreacha na ndíolachán.

Thug údaráis na hÉireann ceadúnas don tailidimíd i 1959 ach ní hionann leis an lá atá inniu ann, ní raibh aon chóras tástála drugaí sa tír seo. Níor thug an Reachtas Bia agus Drugaí i Meiriceá áfach cead chun tailidimíd a dhíol thall mar nach raibh siad sásta leis an tástáil a bhí déanta ag an déantóir sa Ghearmáin Grünanthal.

Cé go raibh margaíocht á déanamh ar thailidimíd go raibh sé sábháilte ag mná a bhí ag iompar clainne an druga a thógáil, bhí an druga go deimhin ag dul isteach sa phlacaint agus bhí tionchar uafásach aige sin ar pháistí sa bhroinn. Le linn na mblianta idir 1959 agus 1961, bhí dochtúirí ar fud an domhain ag feiceáil go raibh líon na bpáistí a bhí ag teacht ar an saol le míchumaí troma ag méadú.

Meastar go raibh tionchar ag tailidimíd ar bhreis is 100,000 bean a bhí ag iompar clainne ar fud an domhain. Chaill 90% díobh a bpáiste agus mar sin tháinig 10,000 páiste a raibh tionchar ag tailidimíd orthu ar an saol agus iad beo. Bhásaigh leath de na páistí sin taobh istigh de bhliain agus mar sin níor mhair ach tuairim is 5,000 páiste a raibh tionchar ag tailidimíd orthu.

Cé go raibh an méid fianaise a bhí ann i leith tailidimíde ag ardú, níor ghníomhaigh déantóir an druga go dtí deireadh na bliana 1961. Faoin tráth sin, bhí an oiread sin imní ar bheirt dochtúirí – Dr Lenz sa Ghearmáin agus Dr McBride san Astráil – faoin méid a bhí feicthe acu faoin druga gur shocraigh siad an t-ábhar imní a bhí acu a chur os comhair an phobail.

I mí na Samhna 1961, bhain Grünenthal Tailidimíd den mhargadh idirnáisiúnta ar deireadh. Cé gur thosaigh go leor tíortha ag baint gach earra tailidimíde den mhargadh go tapa agus ag cur fainic ar an bpobal faoi na contúirtí a bhain leis an druga, bhí sé seacht mí eile ina dhiaidh sin sular ghníomhaigh údaráis na hÉireann.

Chuir dáileoir na hÉireann ciorclán cineálach amach ag tarraingt na dtáirgí den mhargadh i mí na Nollag 1961, ach níor cuireadh fainic ar bith ar an bpobal ná ní raibh aon tuairiscí sna meáin faoi fho- iarmhairtí diana an druga go dtí mí Iúil 1962. Taispeántar i gcáipéis eolais de chuid an rialtais gur smaoinigh na húdaráis faoi fhógra poiblí a dhéanamh ach gur mheas siad é sin a bheith ina ghníomhú neamh-inmhianaithe. Dá bharr sin bhí earraí tailidimíde fós le fáil in Éirinn breis is bliain i ndiaidh don druga a bheith tarraingthe siar go hoifigiúil.

Ní raibh a fhios ag tuismitheoirí ar feadh na mblianta gurbh í Tailidimíd ba chionsiocair lena gcuid leanaí a bheith faoi mhíchumas. Bhí sonraí bailithe faoi rún áfach ag an Roinn Sláinte sa bhliain 1963 ar na leanaí seo go léir, ach níor foilsíodh ná níor tugadh an tuarascáil seo do na tuismitheoirí.

Go luath sna seachtóidí, bhí na mílte leanaí ag fás aníos ar fud an domhain agus iad faoi mhíchumas dhiana mar gheall ar thailidimíd, agus de réir mar a tháinig chomh tromchúiseach is a bhí an scannal chun cinn, bhí a gcuid scéalta sna cinnlínte ar fud an domhain. D’aontaigh déantóir an druga, Grünenthal, agus stát na Gearmáine sa deireadh thiar thall cúiteamh a íoc agus fondúireacht speisialta a bhunú.

Fuair roinnt de na daoine Éireannacha a raibh tionchar ag Tailidimíd orthu agus a mhair roinnt cúitimh ó fhondúireacht na Gearmáine agus ó Rialtas na hÉireann ar deireadh sa bhliain 1975. Mar sin féin, rinne na daoine a mhair cás nach raibh dóthain ar chor ar bith sa chúiteamh chun na costais leighis a bhí orthu a chlúdach ná i dtaobh na leasuithe riachtanacha arbh éigean dóibh a dhéanamh ar feadh a saoil.

In 2009, thairg Stát na hÉireann €62,500 an duine do na daoine Éireannacha a raibh tionchar ag tailidimíd orthu agus a mhair, ach d’eitigh an chuid is mó díobh an t-airgead sin agus chuir an dlí ar Stát na hÉireann.

Dúirt an tAire Sláinte sa bhliain 2013 gurbh í an chomhairle a bhí faighte ag an Rialtas ná nach é Stát na hÉireann a bhí freagrach de réir an dlí as na míchumaí a bhí orthu de bharr tailidimíde. Níl aon ardú déanta ag Stát na hÉireann go dtí seo ar an gcúiteamh ná ar an bpacáiste tacaíochta a thairgeann siad, agus, ní mar ab ionann le húdaráis na Gearmáine agus na Breataine, níor ghabh siad aon leithscéal riamh leis na daoine a tháinig slán ó thailidimíd.

Deir Finola Cassidy ó Chumann Tailidimíde na hÉireann: ‘Braithimid go mór go bhfuil muid ligthe síos ag an Stát roinnt mhaith uaireanta. Tá súil agam go gcuirfear ceart é le linn mo shaoilse. Ní bhím cinnte go minic go gcuirfear. Lig siad síos muid, lig siad síos muid nuair a bhí muid inár leanaí agus tá siad fós dár ligean síos agus muid inár ndaoine fásta.

Scannal: Thalidomide, Dé Máirt an 27 Meán Fómhair, 7pm, RTÉ One

SCANNAL – THALIDOMIDE

TX 27th September 2022, RTÉ One

The morning sickness drug Thalidomide was first sold in Ireland in 1959. But as the popularity of the drug increased, so did the number of babies born with catastrophic disabilities, and it took years before it was finally taken off the shelves in Ireland.

The second programme in the new series of Scannal pieces together the story of the Thalidomide scandal – considered by many to be one of the worst medical scandals the world has ever seen – and how the scandal unfolded in Ireland.

It is estimated that more than 100,000 pregnant women were affected by thalidomide worldwide, before the drug was finally withdrawn from the international market in November 1961. However, in Ireland it would be a further seven months before the Irish authorities acted, with the drug still available over the counter a year later.

In this episode of the acclaimed social history series Scannal, Irish Thalidomide survivors and victims’ families give first-hand accounts of how their lives were impacted by the scandal – and their decades-long search for justice.

When Portlaoise woman, Mary Clarken, gave birth to her daughter Sharon in 1962, the baby was born with a deformed arm. ‘I had taken one little tablet. That one tiny little tablet could do so much damage,” says Mary Clarken.

In Dublin, Finola Cassidy’s mother also took Thalidomide without realising the devastating consequences. She says, ‘My mother might have taken two tablets, possibly on day 22 of the pregnancy, and that is when the arms were being developed. It was a big shock. I was baptised in the delivery ward. I wasn’t expected to survive.”

The youngest Thalidomide survivor in Ireland, John Stack, is a farmer from Kerry. He was born in January 1963, and his mother took thalidomide seven months after the drug should have been taken off the Irish market. ‘My mother must have taken it around June of ’62. It was supposed to have been taken off the shelf, but they didn’t’, says John Stack.

Thalidomide was sold under a number of brand names in Ireland, but the most popular was Softenon. Unlike many other countries, a doctor’s prescription was not necessary here, so Irish mothers suffering from morning sickness could buy thalidomide products over the counter in chemists.

Thalidomide was one of the biggest-selling drugs in the world at the time. One million doses a day were being sold in Germany and in 1961 more than 51,000 packets of Softenon were sold in Ireland.

But unknown to the thousands of pregnant women who were taking thalidomide, the number of children born with deformities was increasing in step with the sales figures.

Thalidomide had been licenced by the Irish authorities in 1959, but unlike today, there was no drug- testing system in this country. The Food and Drug Administration in America, however, did not

approve thalidomide for sale there, as they were not satisfied with the testing carried out by the German manufacturer Grünanthal.

Even though thalidomide was marketed as safe for pregnant women, the drug did in fact cross over the placenta and had a devastating effect on babies in the womb. During the period 1959 to 1961, doctors all over the world were seeing increasing numbers of children born with severe deformities.

It is estimated that more than 100,000 pregnant women were affected by thalidomide worldwide. 90% of them miscarried, so in total 10,000 children affected by thalidomide were born alive. Half of those babies died within a year, so only around 5,000 children born with the effects of Thalidomide survived into adulthood.

Even though the evidence against thalidomide was mounting, the manufacturer of the drug didn’t act until late 1961. By then, two medics – a Dr Lenz in Germany and a Dr McBride in Australia – were so alarmed with what they had observed in relation to the drug that they decided to go public with their concerns.

In November 1961, Grünenthal finally withdrew Thalidomide from the international market. While many countries quickly pulled all thalidomide products off the market and warned the public about the dangers of the drug, the Irish authorities didn’t act for a further seven months.

The Irish distributor sent out a generic circular withdrawing the products in December 1961, but there were no public warnings or media reports about the severe side effects of the drug until July 1962. A government briefing document shows that the authorities considered making a public announcement, but regarded this as an ‘undesirable’ course of action. As a result thalidomide products were still in circulation in Ireland for over a year after it was officially withdrawn.

For years, many of the parents also had no idea that it was Thalidomide that had caused their children’s disabilities. The Department of Health, however, had in 1963 secretly collected data on all these children, but this report was not published or released to the parents.

In the early 1970s, thousands of children worldwide were growing up with severe disabilities caused by thalidomide, and as the scale of the scandal became apparent, their stories hit the headlines all over the world. The manufacturer of the drug, Grünanthal, and the German state eventually agreed to pay compensation and set up a special foundation.

In 1975, some of the Irish Thalidomide survivors finally received some compensation from the German foundation and the Irish government. However, the survivors argue that this was not in any way sufficient to cover all the medical expenses and essential adaptions that they have needed through their lives.

In 2009, the remaining Irish thalidomide survivors were offered €62,500 each in compensation from the Irish State, but most of them rejected this and took the Irish State to court.

In 2013, the Minister for Health stated that the advice given to the Government is that the Irish State is not legally responsible for the deformities caused by thalidomide. The Irish State has so far not increased the compensation and support package on offer, and, unlike the German and British authorities, has never apologised to the thalidomide survivors.

Finola Cassidy of the Irish Thalidomide Association says: ‘We feel very strongly that the State has let us down on numerous occasions. I hope it is rectified in my lifetime. I am not always sure that it will be. They really failed us, they failed us as children, and they are still failing us as adults’.

Scannal: Thalidomide, Tuesday September 27th, 7pm, RTÉ One