AWARDS by the Hepatitis C compensation tribunal could cost the taxpayer more than £200 million and will last indefinitely, according to the Minister for Health.
Mr Noonan was addressing the Seanad yesterday before the last stage of the Health (Amendment) Bill was passed. The Bill will provide free health services to people infected with Hepatitis C from contaminated blood or blood products.
Mr Joe Doyle (FG) said that 1,600 people had applied to the compensation tribunal. The closing date for applications was last Monday. He said he was pleased that the representative group Positive Action had decided to go to the tribunal.
Mr Noonan said his latest compensation estimates for the tribunal were £200 million or more. He favoured this approach over the courts, as the legal costs of a tribunal, hearing three cases a day, would be lower than those in the courts where cases could take up to eight weeks.
Divided among 1,600 applicants, £200 million would give an average of £125,000 to each applicant to cover compensation and legal costs.
Mr Michael Finneran (FF) asked Mr Noonan whether people who had applied could postpone their hearings until after the outcome of a "test case" in the High Court.
Ms Cathy Honan said she had spoken to people who felt they were forced to go to the tribunal. "Many are anxious that their cases are not heard before the tribunal before the outcome of the High Court case," she said. There was a "lack of trust between many of the victims and the Government. They are very wary to, trust the institutions of the State."
Mr Noonan said the tribunal had advised him that they were not going to force people into hirings and it could award pro visional awards. "People can come back and claim additional compensation. So it has to continue indefinitely. It has to be in existence and it has to be available for hearing if someone wants to come back."
People given compensation by the tribunal had a month to consider that award. "If they accept that's the end of the compensation matter," he said. And if they did not accept the tribunal award they could go to court. He denied that the case pending in the High Court was a test case and compared it to any other damages cases. He said the issue of State liability would have to be proved in court. At the tribunal the issue, of liability would not arise, and applicants would simply have to prove that they were infected by blood or blood products.
On the question of the Bill before the Seanad Mr Finneran suggested that the cost of health care for infected people could be £5,000 per annum and the Government had allocated only £2 million annually.
Mr Noonan said the £2 million covered the secondary health care for Hepatitis C cases this year.