An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business Dail Éireann — 2025-04-08 ============================================================ Seán Ó Fearghaíl (FF), Kildare South Despite the wonderful weather we are having, there is a certain sense of foreboding around the country as we see - thanks to Donald Trump - the dark clouds of economic uncertainty beginning to gather. I am conscious that in such circumstances, where we have had difficulties in the past, we have always moved to secure the well-being and welfare of the most disadvantaged and the less well off. It is in that context that I have been thinking about those who have been impacted by thalidomide. It is nearly 50 years ago since I first heard the story of thalidomide. Fifty years has elapsed and we now have approximately 40 people living with that condition in the country. To say that I am embarrassed and ashamed that we have not yet met their needs and resolved the difficulties is something of an understatement. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-04-08/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:53:42+00:00 Sitting date: 2025-04-08