The Government last night steadfastly refused to reconvene the tribunal on the hepatitis C scandal in the face of strong criticism of its decision not to contest the recent court action which resulted in the quashing of part of the inquiry's report.
Accusing the State of having 'singularly failed' to protect the public interest, the Democratic Left health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, recalled that the tribunal had been established to investigate the single biggest health scandal in the history of the State.
It dealt with a scandal which led to the suffering of many victims who had bravely and tenaciously sought out the truth, she said and claimed the Finlay report was being 'excised to the point where it is damaged, unless Government action is taken.
'Only a reconvening of the tribunal will elicit the full truth in accordance with the law. That is the action that the Minister for Health should have taken in preparation for this court case. Instead, he did nothing and the State came out with its hands up and surrendered without a fight.'
The legal challenge taken by a Dublin consultant, Dr James Kirrane, to the findings of the Finlay inquiry report was uncontested by the State.
The challenge, heard in the High Court on Monday, led to a quashing of part of the Finlay report which concluded that Dr Kirrane bore some responsibility for the contamination of blood products by failing to insist on a greater investigation of the reaction of patients to the anti-D blood products.
In the Dail last night, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Tom Moffatt, insisted that the tribunal was 'not a creature of the Government, rather it was a creation of the Houses of the Oireachtas'.
According to Dr Moffatt, Mr Justice Finlay was of the view that he was 'functus officio', that he had completed his task and it was not open to him to reconvene the tribunal. Neither was the Minister or the Government empowered to refer the matter back to a tribunal. The court's jurisdiction in the case did not extend to requiring the tribunal to reconvene or to order a new inquiry.
Disputing the Minister's assertion, Ms Jane O'Brien, of Positive Action, said its executive would meet today to consider the Minister's Dail response.
'Resolutions of the Oireachtas established the tribunal to investigate an issue of urgent public importance. It was the Government that drew up the terms of reference, accepted the report of Mr Justice Finlay as final, and resolved not to resile or repudiate any of the findings of fact of a tribunal report in any proceedings in court,' she said.
Positive Action believed it was not a matter for Mr Justice Finlay alone to reconvene the tribunal. Instead, she claimed, it was a matter for the Oireachtas and it was within the remit of the Government to bring the issue of reconvening the inquiry before the Dail.