A woman who discovered the organs of her deceased baby girl had been retained by a Dublin hospital has lost a High Court bid aimed at having the Minister for Health set up a public inquiry into organ retention.
The campaign group Parents for Justice expressed disappointment with the court's decision and urged the Minister to go ahead with a public inquiry.
The action was brought by Christine McStay from Portlaoise, Co Laois whose baby daughter Anne Marie died at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin over two weeks after her birth on February 3rd, 1981.
She had been born at the Rotunda Hospital and transferred to the Crumlin hospital later.
The High Court was told in December 1999 that Ms McStay was informed by telephone that the brain, heart, lungs and liver of her deceased daughter had been retained by Our Lady's Hospital Crumlin upon the child's death.
Ms McStay had asked the court to direct the Minister for Health to set up an alternative form of inquiry into the organ retention issue, including the establishment of a statutory inquiry as was promised six years ago.
The case was before the courts via a preliminary issue as to whether Ms McStay, a member of the Parents for Justice group, could secure a declaration to that effect against the Minister given the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary.
Mr Justice Thomas Smyth said the court must be careful not to "fetter unduly" the Executive's freedom of decision.
The Houses of the Oireachtas and the Oireachtas Committees could not be dictated to by court orders. It was not open to the court to give the declaration sought and there was not a legal obligation that would justify such an order. There was no justiciable issue between the parties, he found.
After today's ruling, Parents for Justice called on Ms Harney to immediately set up the statutory inquiry.
Group chairwoman Charlotte Yeates said the Government had reneged on its promise and the parents had now been left "high and dry".
"We are looking at a Govenrment which cannot be relied on to keep its promises. Any promise made by this Government cannot be relied on. We should remember that when the General Election comes around," she said.
"This Government has lead us up the garden path."