I was like Jekyll and Hyde... I wanted to put a knife in my wife
Ex-army man reveals dark side of anti-malaria drug
“There are a lot more who are statute barred from taking a case and we know of 12 suicides because of it, though the real figure could be higher.
“One man told me he was out the back garden putting up a fence with a lump hammer in his hand. All of a sudden he jumped off the wall.
“He said all he wanted to do at that moment was put the lump hammer into his wife’s head.
“It tears families apart when they don’t understand what is happening.”
Ven Naughton, whose soldier son Greg took his own life in 2011, was in Leinster House on Wednesday to hear Sinn Fein TD Aengus O Snodaigh put forward an anti-lariam motion.
During the debate, which was not opposed by Government, he sat with tears in his eyes and pressed a photograph of his son to the glass panel above the chamber.
Deputy O Snodaigh said: “For nearly a decade I have raised the dangerous and potentially fatal side-effects associated with Lariam.
“An alternative anti-malaria medication that is safe for consumption is urgently needed.
“The trauma felt by soldiers, their families and partners as a result of this drug has been irreversible.”
One serving soldier who took Lariam in Liberia posted anonymously on social media and revealed: “I was as close as you can get to death as there were two ambulances at my house because I attempted suicide.
“There was a doctor there to pronounce me dead.
“I had a lot of counselling since and things improved but to this day I still think about ending it all.
“Recently, while I was cleaning the kitchen and my child was watching TV, I had to grab the counter top and take deep breaths as an overwhelming desire to commit suicide came over me.
“When it went, I just held my daughter and kissed and hugged her.”
A Department of Defence spokesman said: “Fundamentally this is a medical matter that should be decided by qualified medical professionals.
“A working group is examining issues arising in relation to the use of Lariam. In its earlier work in 2013, the medical experts consulted concurred with the practices followed by the Defence Forces in prescribing Lariam.
“The Minister understands the working group are considering options to formalise the provision of ongoing external expert medical advice to the Defence Forces in relation to a range of medical matters – including malaria chemoprophylaxis.
“The Minister anticipates receiving its report shortly. He will carefully consider the group’s recommendations. Given that a case on this matter is due for hearing on Tuesday in the High Court, it is inappropriate for Minister Kehoe to comment further.”