SURVIVORS OF THE Thalidomide drug scandal met with the Taoiseach Simon Harris, Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Minister Roderic O’Gorman at Government Buildings yesterday.

The meeting with the three coalition party leaders was described as “historic, emotional and brutally honest” by the Irish Thalidomide Association (ITA), who said in a statement that both sides want a “full and final settlement to the 60-year saga”.

The organisation is seeking a full State apology, statutory supports and a fair compensation system for those affected by Thalidomide.

Just 40 survivors of Thalidomide are still alive today, and the meeting represented the largest gathering of survivors for many years.

Five mothers who took Thalidomide for morning sickness in the 1950s are also still alive today, though with many of them now in their 90s they were unable to attend yesterday’s meeting.

The drug was introduced in Ireland in the late 1950s as a treatment for anxiety, sleeping problems and morning sickness, however, it later emerged that it could cause serious birth defects if taken during pregnancy.

It was removed from the market in Europe in 1961, though the ITA claims there were delays in removing it from the market in Ireland.

The ITA rejected a letter from the Government sent last week that expressed sympathy and regret for what happened to those who took Thalidomide, saying that it did not amount to an apology for survivors.

The British and Australian governments have previously issued official apologies to survivors and the ITA is campaigning for the Irish government to do the same.

An “enhanced package of health and social care supports” for Thalidomide survivors was announced by the Government earlier this month, however, the ITA described the package as inadequate as it had not been set up on a statutory footing and didn’t include a fair compensation scheme.

Despite the rejection of the Government’s letter, the group accepted the invitation to meet yesterday.

ITA spokesperson Finola Cassidy said that the meeting “was a very good and constructive engagement with survivors” and that an agreement was reached with the Government on a pathway forward.

Plans for the parameters of further negotiations will start immediately, the ITA said, adding that “a negotiated settlement with political ownership was always the best way forward”.

Cassidy told The Journal that while their hopes of an end to this campaign had been dashed before, yesterday was a good day in progressing towards the closure survivors feel is long overdue.

A Government spokesperson said, “the three-party leaders had a good and constructive engagement with the survivors. It was important for the three leaders to engage with the survivors directly and to listen to them”.

“The Government and survivors have agreed a pathway forward”, they continued.