Judge Alison Lindsay said yesterday she objected to a claim by the Irish Haemophilia Society that the inquiry's business has been conducted with "undue haste".
The tribunal chairwoman said the inquiry was covering ground in a meaningful and competent way. She was responding to an application from counsel for the IHS, Mr Martin Giblin SC, for the next phase of the tribunal, covering the testimony of international experts, to be postponed, pending the circulation of witness statements.
Mr Giblin said his clients felt they were being "bundled" through a very important phase without sufficient time for preparation.
Dr Keith Hoots, a haematologist with the University of Texas, is due to open the next phase on Thursday. Mr Giblin said Dr Hoots needed to be able to consider the evidence of other expert witnesses before taking the stand.
Counsel further requested that the tribunal would keep Monday as a non-sitting day to allow legal teams to prepare for hearings. He said his clients felt things were moving "a little fast" and wished to ensure that when the tribunal report came out it reached conclusions that were not only thorough and searching but also seen to be so.
Judge Lindsay said, however, the tribunal had lost a considerable amount of time last year and that was why it was sitting on Mondays. Regarding the time constraints she was under, she said "pressure" would be the wrong word to use, but "I have to produce a report as quickly as possible".
Counsel for the tribunal, Mr John Finlay SC, also rejected the IHS's claims and said a list of experts and relevant statements for the next phase would be circulated shortly.
In his submission, Mr Giblin also complained that no decision had been made by the tribunal's legal team on whether to call as a witness Mr Noel Fox, the former BTSB chairman, as requested by the IHS.
Mr Giblin said he was anxious that officials from the Virus Reference Laboratory and Dr Emer Lawlor, deputy medical director of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, completed their evidence before expert testimony was heard.
He noted that an IHS request to have Mr Ted Keyes, the former BTSB chief executive, recalled to the stand had been refused and that further applications to have senior Department of Health officials testify were outstanding.
Judge Lindsay said such matters could be dealt with by means of correspondence with the tribunal's legal team.
