Martin cautious on taking further action

Following the publication of the Judge Lindsay¿s report the Minister for Health, Michael Martin, refused to rule out setting …

Following the publication of the Judge Lindsay¿s report the Minister for Health, Michael Martin, refused to rule out setting up a new tribunal to inquire into the role of drug companies in the scandal.

There has also been considerable pressure on the Minister to refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions but Mr Martin said it was too early to decide what further action, if any, should be taken.

Speaking on RTE television, Mr Martin said he was "committed to the advancement" of the issue over drug companies and would discuss any possible future inquiry with Irish Haemophilia Society (IHS).

He said in a statement today that he welcomed the report and would be meeting with the IHS to discuss its recommendations.

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"The Government will support the implementation of the Report's recommendations as a matter of priority," Mr Martin said. He added: "I am fully committed to addressing any continuing deficiencies in service delivery that are identified in the Report."

Labour's spokesperson on equality and law reform Ms Jan O'Sullivan said that while Judge Lindsay was not referring the report the DPP, she believed the Minister should request the DPP "look at the report to determine if there may have been breaches of the criminal law".

She also called for the publication of the Gardiner Report which Judge Linsday ruled to be outside the terms of reference of the Tribunal. Senior Council Mr Paul Gardiner reported on possible options for an investigation into the actions of multinational companies in the scandal.

"The Minister should now publish the Gardiner Report and outline the steps he proposes to take to ensure that the role of the companies whose products are implicated is fully investigated and the truth established," Ms O' Sullivan said.

Fine Gael spokesperson for health and children, Ms Olivia Mitchell, urged action to prevent "a similar travesty from occurring".

She said: "The main recommendations of the report, with the exception of a call for an increase in the number of haematologists, focused on the recording and the communications of information. Incomplete records, the lack of accessible data and the consequent failure of communication both within the health service and between the service and the public, compounded the disaster which befell haemophilia suffers."

The Minister and his officials are currently examining the Report.