Vaccine trial does not blame religious

THERE is no information at this stage to suggest the religious acted inappropriately during a vaccine trial involving infants in their care more than 40 years ago, the Laffoy Commission heard yesterday.

The vaccine trial conducted in the early 1960s involved 68 children in five mother and baby homes and an industrial school.

The trial sought to compare a quadruple vaccine (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio combined) with the triple DPT vaccine and polio administered separately and at different sites.

A Department of Health report could not confirm the legality of this trial and others as documentation detailing if consent had been given could not be found.

Yesterday, commission chairperson Ms Justice Mary Laffoy heard submissions from parties who had an interest in being legally represented when a full public examination of the trial begins in June.

Ms Justice Laffoy warned that the commission was required to conduct an inquiry into the vaccine trial and people would be subpoenaed to give evidence whether they were legally represented or not.

Senior counsel for the commission, Frank Clarke, said one person had come forward in the relatively recent past who received the four-in-one vaccination during the trial.

He said considerable progress was made in identifying the people involved in the trials and invited other people who suspect they may have been involved to contact the commission. The Wellcome trials were led by Dr Irene Hillary of the Department of Medical Microbiology at UCD between December, 1960 and November, 1961 who also applied to be legally represented during the inquiry.

The trial involving the four-in-one vaccine took place at St Patrick’s Home, Navan Road, Dublin; St Clare’s, Stamullen, Co Meath; St Peter’s, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath; Dunboyne Mother and Baby Home in Co Meath; Bessboro Mother and Baby Home in Co Cork and the Mount Carmel Industrial School in Moate, Co Westmeath.

Lawyers representing the religious institutions told the commission that information currently available to them suggested that there was no allegation of inappropriate behaviour on their part.

At this stage, however, they all wished to reserve their position until the book of documents became available.

Meanwhile, it was learned at a separate public sitting the commission is investigating 710 abuse allegations made against members of the Christian Brothers.