Blood scandals cost State €1bn to date

THE STATE’S bill for compensating people affected by hepatitis C and HIV as a result of the blood contamination controversies has now hit nearly €1 billion, according to official new figures.

Briefing material drawn up by the Department of Health for its secretary general, Michael Scanlan, in recent months reveal that the total cost of the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunal between 1996 and 2009 came to approximately €952 million.

This figure included payments to claimants, legal fees and administrative costs.

The Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunal was established by the Government in 1996 to provide awards to people infected with hepatitis C or HIV through the administration within the State of infected blood and blood products. The documentation, which was prepared for Mr Scanlan’s appearance before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee in late January, said that about 83 new cases were submitted to the tribunal in 2009.

“There are currently approximately 914 applications pending, most of which related to next-of-kin claims,” it says.

The Lindsay tribunal found that about 250 people had been infected with HIV or hepatitis C as a result of contaminated blood products used for the treatment of haemophilia.

Separately, about 1,600 women were infected with the hepatitis C virus as a result of receiving contaminated anti-D blood products.

The briefing material states that in 2008 the Department of Health had provided funding of approximately €75 million to the compensation tribunal.

“The bulk of the expenditure of the tribunal relates to payments to claimants and legal fees. Administrative expenses of the tribunal itself were approximately €1.2 million.”

The briefing material states that up until 2008 the tribunal had paid out €897 million, of which €112 million went on legal fees.

In 2006, the Government introduced legislation providing for the establishment of a separate insurance support scheme for persons who had been infected with hepatitis C or HIV through the administration of infected blood and blood products.

The Department of Health has estimated that this will cost about €90 million over the 25-year lifetime of the scheme.

A number of years ago the Government, after extensive legal advice, ruled out the possibility of suing the US manufacturers of blood-clotting products tainted with hepatitis C and HIV.

In 2006, the Department of Health revealed that the compensation tribunal, at that point, had made payments to about 2,200 people.

The annual report of the compensation tribunal for 2005 showed that at that point the average award in that year was €143,647.

The Irish Timeshad reported previously that the highest award believed to have been paid since the tribunal was established in 1995 was €3.1 million.

THE TRIBUNAL: THE NUMBERS

• Total cost of tribunal, from 1996 to 2008: €897m (€767m payments to claimants; €112 legal fees)

• Tribunal cost 2009: €55m (including €1.3m administrative costs)

• Number of applications pending: 914

• Number of new cases submitted in 2009: 83