Ireland’s Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has introduced a new mesothelioma bill in Parliament which will extend payments to all sufferers of the disease, including those with second-hand mesothelioma. This week, the bill passed through the second stage on its way to becoming a law.

According to a BBC News article, 40 to 50 Northern Ireland residents die each year from mesothelioma. Ritchie believes the bill is groundbreaking and will greatly benefit those suffering with the disease, providing assistance while they’ve still living.

“It will give early access to a lump sum payable within weeks of diagnosis,” she said. “This means sufferers will get compensation while they can still benefit from it during the final months of their lives.”

“Under the new Bill it will not be necessary to prove an occupational or causal link to access compensation,” the article points out. “This means that wives who contracted mesothelioma from washing their husband’s asbestos work clothes or the children who played with these overalls are to benefit, as will people who lived near factories that used asbestos.”

Mesothelioma typically takes from 20 to 50 years to develop and those who worked with the hazardous mineral directly are not the only ones affected by the disease. More and more cases of secondary asbestos exposure have been reported during the last several years, prompting bills like this one that will provide monetary compensation for these individuals as well.

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