The government will be offering €3 million in compensation to Maltese victims of thalidomide, Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli announced on Wednesday. 

The drug, a sedative developed in West Germany in the 1960s has been linked to thousands of birth defects, and while it was condemned internationally in 1961, it remained commercially available in Malta until 1968. 

In an impassioned speech in Parliament on Wednesday morning, Farrugia Portelli, who has supported a campaign for compensation by survivors, apologised for years of inaction that led to the suffering of individuals who have had to live with the resulting disabilities. 

“Till today, no Maltese victims were ever offered any sort of apology from either the manufacturer of this drug, or from the Maltese Government who allowed this medicine to continue to be imported,” she said. 

“It is atrocious that while other European countries stopped importing this drug its use continued in Malta.” 

She added that no apology would turn back the clock on the years of pain and suffering experienced by victims and nor would it fix what happened and that while “hard-headedness” had caused this injustice, it is no longer productive to dwell on the past but look to the future to heal open wounds. 

Cabinet, Farrugia Portelli said, has agreed to offer the sum of €3 million as a full and final settlement to the living victims of thalidomide, estimated to be some 34 people. 

An independent board comprised of medical experts will be appointed to assess every person’s case to establish that they are truly victims of thalidomide and what percentage of disability the drug has caused them. A request for compensation will be determined based on this assessment.