THE Minister for Health and the Blood Transfusion Service Board have failed to explain properly the terms under which a blood testing service was transferred to a private company, the Fianna Fail spokesman on health said yesterday. Mr Brian Cowen asked how two BTSB employees became directors of that company.
Mr Cowen also wanted to know if tendering had been involved. He called on the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, to say if he was aware the two employees were working with the former chief medical consultant Dr Terry Walsh in the company, Paternity Test Services.
This company, which provided a blood and tissue type screening service for parentage testing, is apparently to cease operations.
Last year the former minister, Mr Lowry made a huge issue out of the procedures of Government departments and State agencies," said Mr Cowen. "Each Department was ordered to go through its procedures for previous years and that of the State agencies under its remit.
"At the time Mr Lowry said no difficulties had been reported at Departments or State agencies. But was that true of directorships of the BTSB employees reported at the time? Was it reported to the Department of Health and what action was taken at that stage?" asked Mr Cowen.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Cellmark Diagnostics, the UK company which Dr Terry Walsh also acted for in Dublin, said yesterday it was now examining its list of contact names in Ireland.
Dr Jill Rysiecki said the company had tried without success to reach Dr Walsh recently. He was listed as one of a few people in Ireland who could take blood to be sent to the company in the UK for parentage DNA testing. "We are reviewing our list of blood samplers at the moment. I do not know when we will make any decisions," she said.
Mr Noonan said yesterday that a new errors procedure would be introduced at the BTSB to avoid situations, such as those reported in recent weeks, where it has asked unsuitable donors to give blood. He also expressed confidence in the management at the blood bank and said it was dealing with a very difficult situation.
On Tuesday night Mr Noonan told the Dail that the two BTSB employees involved in Paternity Test Services, although not in breach of the board's code of conduct, would resign as company directors and dissociate themselves from it.
He also explained that in the past a paternity testing service had been provided by a professor in UCD. The blood samples were sent to technologists employed by the BTSB who were paid a personal fee for the work done. In 1984 when the professor retired the Department of Health raised the question with the BTSB of providing this service as part of their overall tissue typing work.
Later in 1984 the Department was informed, he said, by a staff member of the BTSB "that a group of staff members had formed a limited company, Paternity Test Services Ltd, to provide such a service".
Mr Noonan said the Department was informed at the time that a suitably equipped laboratory outside Pelican House would be used by the company. It was also the Department's understanding that any work involved for staff members would be done outside normal working hours, he said.
"In December 1991, I understand, the board of the BTSB considered the involvement of staff members in the work of this company. Whilst the laboratory facilities of the BTSB were not used by this company, it would appear the then chief medical consultant [Dr Terry Walsh], who acted as a medical consultant to the company, took a small number of blood samples in Pelican House each week. The board decided in December 1991 that samples must not be taken in the board's premises," said the Minister.