Minister accused of compensation claims delay

The Irish Haemophilia Society has accused the Minister for Health and his officials of risking losing hundreds of millions of euro in potential compensation payments by delays in initiating legal action against multinational pharmaceutical companies over their involvement in the contamination of blood products.

The society has argued that the timescale under US law for the Government to sue the international pharmaceutical companies is running out and that any action could become "time barred".

The Irish Times understands that in a letter to the Minister, Mr Martin, the society has maintained that the State was losing its entitlement to pursue certain aspects of the claim against the pharmaceutical companies as time progresses.

The Irish Haemophilia Society is angry at delays by the Department of Health in dealing with an offer by a US law firm, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann and Bernstein, which specialises in personal injury class actions, to initiate legal action against the pharmaceutical companies on a "no foal, no fee" basis.

The Department of Health said that there were potential legal and constitutional difficulties about the State becoming involved in cases on a "no foal, no fee basis" and that it had commissioned a separate law firm in the US to advise on the feasibility of instituting proceedings against "suitable defendants".

The Department of Health said that it hoped to have final legal advice available for the Government before the end of the year.

However, in its letter, the Irish Haemophilia Society strongly criticised the Minister for delaying a decision "in circumstances where financial loss is occurring on an on-going basis.

"Such losses could eventually amount to many hundreds of millions of euros which could be used for the advantage of Irish citizens in the provision of better health care services."

The society also accused the Minister of "a lack of bottle" in pursuing compensation claims against the international pharmaceutical companies which supplied blood products contaminated with the HIV virus to Irish hospitals. Eighty-eight haemophiliacs have died as a result of receiving contaminated blood products and 270 have been infected with the HIV virus.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said that the Minister needed to take advice on the legal questions raised by the society and that he would revert to it after the summer break.