The Irish Haemophilia Society has said it will be seeking a judicial review of Judge Alison Lindsay's decision yesterday not to demand further information from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service about confidential documents over which it has claimed privilege.
IHS administrator Ms Rosemary Daly said it had made the decision "reluctantly", given the time and money which would be involved in the High Court appeal. She noted it would not be necessary if the IBTS followed the example of the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, and waived privilege over its confidential records.
The IBTS, however, welcomed yesterday's ruling and said it had at all times fully cooperated with the tribunal and would continue to do so.
In her ruling, Judge Lindsay said she was satisfied the IBTS's affidavit, which listed the documents over which the blood bank had claimed privilege, complied with a previous ruling by her on the matter.
In order to challenge the sworn statement, she said, there must be "cogent evidence" that the privilege claim was incorrectly asserted, and she had no such evidence.
The IHS had sought an order by Judge Lindsay for the IBTS to submit a further affidavit detailing in a general nature the content of the records over which privilege was claimed and the reasons why it was being claimed.
But the chairwoman said she was satisfied the IHS was not entitled to know the contents of the documentation, as to reveal this would "defeat the very purpose" of legal and professional privilege. Nor, she said, was any party entitled to know who gave the legal advice.
She said it was unfair of Mr Martin Giblin SC, counsel for the IHS, to describe as "a bland assertion" the sworn statement of Dr Emer Lawlor, deputy medical director of the IBTS, who had engaged in a careful exercise and was aided by legal advice in preparing the affidavit.
Responding to her ruling, Mr Martin Hayden SC, for the IHS, applied for the right to cross-examine Dr Lawlor about the affidavit.
