Deadline for legal opinion on suing drug firms

Minister for Health Mary Harney has said she wants legal opinion by the end of May on the feasibility of the State taking legal action against international pharmaceutical companies arising from the manufacture of contaminated blood products.

In a statement issued last night after a meeting with the Irish Haemophilia Society (IHS), Ms Harney said the Chief State Solicitor's Office had engaged a legal firm to provide the required advice. The chief executive of the IHS, Brian O'Mahony, said the society was adamant that it would hold Ms Harney to the deadline of the end of May.

He said the society was concerned that the Government had delayed for four years over taking a decision on the feasibility of taking legal action against the pharmaceutical companies.

Mr O'Mahony said that four years ago a US firm of lawyers had offered to take a case on behalf of the State against the companies involved in the manufacture of contamined products which led to the deaths of many members of the society and the infection of others with the HIV and Hepatitis C viruses.

In its statement last night the Department of Health confirmed that the Government had been approached unilaterally in July 2003 by a New York law firm.

"Initial advices received from counsel appointed by the Attorney General raised serious concerns in relation to the proposal," it stated.

The department said the Attorney General had recommended that independent opinion be obtained in the United States in respect of the proposed litigation.

Ms Harney said yesterday it would be very foolish to pursue legal action if the State didn't have much chance of winning.

"We would be putting the taxpayer at a huge expense to pursue litigation for the sake of it."

Mr O'Mahony said Ms Harney had told the society that legislation to allow for persons infected by blood and blood products administered within the State to obtain insurance would go through the Oireachtas between Easter and the summer.

The IHS also criticised adversarial tactics being used by the State which, it said, included blockages being placed in the way of members seeking justice in relation to infection with Hepatitis C and HIV. It said that recently there had been increasing delays introduced by the State for members seeking to complete their cases either at the compensation tribunal or the High Court. It also said the State had sought to "robustly cross examine" its members even though the system was supposed to be non-adversarial.

The Department of Health said last night that when people appealed awards to the High Court that normal rules of court applied. "In a minority of appeal cases cross-examination will be unavoidable if the claimant is the only person who can testify to certain important details, but advance notice will be given in every case and the court will then decide whether cross-examination is appropriate. The legal team for the State is aware of the Government's wishes to have any cross-examination handled sensitively," it stated.