THE tribunal set up by the Government in September 1995 to compensate people infected by contaminated blood products had received 1,631 applications by September 26th this year.
Up to that date, the Compensation Tribunal had heard 140 cases, of which 139 received awards and one was rejected. The awards ranged from £15,200 to £332,756. The total amount of the awards was approximately £15.5 million.
The tribunal initially heard two emergency cases in early 1996, relating to women who were terminally ill. One of them died in February. Full hearings began in March.
Of the 1,631 applications received by September 26th, 1,483 were primary claimants, 83 were dependents and 65 were carers. An additional 100 hearings have been scheduled up to January 15th, 1997, and a further 40 claims await hearing beyond that date.
In June of this year the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, said awards by the tribunal could cost more than £200 million.