NEWS SPECIAL: Parents slam inaction after narcolepsy support pledge

Children who developed narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine have yet to be offered a comprehensive package of supports almost a year after a Government pledge.

The situation is in stark contrast to action by the Finnish government, where €30m has been set aside to pay for medical care, travel costs for treatment, and other expenses.

Máiréad Lawless, whose son Alex, 8, has narcolepsy, said Health Minister James Reilly had given “a clear commitment” to the lobby group Sound (Sufferers of Unique Narcolepsy Disorder), that a paper would be put to the Government prior to the 2012 Dáil summer recess proposing a package of supports. This did not happen.