The Mrs Bridget McCole issue was no longer political and has now become a legal matter, the Minister for Health, said yesterday. Speaking in Limerick following the McCole family's call for a full Garda investigation into their mother's death from hepatitis C after receiving contaminated Anti-D, Mr Cowen said while there were legal roadblocks it was his duty to make sure the statutory tribunal was set up and this had now happened.
Mr Cowen said he was also putting forward a settlement procedure which would ensure a greater number of cases being heard far more quickly. The question of criminal negligence was a matter for the the Director of Public Prosecutions.