Individuals who suffer adverse reactions to vaccines delivered as part of all national immunisation programmes should be entitled to ex-gratia payments ranging from €15,000 to €200,000, according to a new report.
The final report from a Vaccine Damage Steering Group which was established by the Department of Health back in 2007 and published yesterday, says these payments should not be regarded as compensation but as recognition that, in limited cases, an adverse event could take place following immunisation and that on the balance of probability, damage occurred as a result.
The Department of Health has not said yet if it will implement the report's findings. It said it is considering the report.
The report says an adverse event, to qualify for payment, must have lasted more than six months, resulted in a hospital stay and surgery or resulted in death.
The report recommends those who suffer minor damage be entitled to €15,000, those suffering moderate damage be entitled to €75,000 and those who suffer severe damage be eligible for a payment of €200,000.
The scheme should be administered by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the report says.
The steering group that drew up the report included representatives of the Department of Health, the HSE, the Irish Medicines Board and the State Claims Agency.
They recommend "it should be a condition of acceptance of an award that any claims against the State in relation to the alleged vaccine damage are waived".
The report says it is difficult to say with any degree of certainty the likely cost of establishing the no-fault scheme, but it says it is likely to be small.
In the UK where a similar system exists, there were initially a high number of applications, which could also be expected here, but there are now about 100 to 120 applications per year for pay outs, of which about five are successful.
There are currently three cases alleging vaccine damage with the State Claims Agency and two with the Irish Public Bodies insurance company.
On the rationale for the no-fault scheme the report says that in circumstances where the State actively encourages all parents to participate in a national immunisation programme there is an onus on the State to look sympathetically at the very rare number of cases where children suffer serious adverse reactions as a result.
"The group agreed that the State should acknowledge that notwithstanding the substantial and proven benefits of vaccination programmes, individuals react differently to vaccines and there is no way to predict with certainty the reaction of a specific individual to a particular vaccine.
It is therefore right to acknowledge that and make arrangements for a payment scheme in the small number of cases who have been adversely affected," it added.
It also stresses that immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way to protect children against certain diseases and has saved more lives than any other public health intervention, apart from providing clean water.
Dr James Reilly, Fine Gael's health spokesman, welcomed the report.
"I have been arguing for a non-adversarial system to deal with these tragic events for some time and I consider the report of the expert group to be a welcome development and a step in the right direction," he said.