The consultant haematologist who uncovered the blood transfusion scandal in 1994 has been reinstated by the board of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) less than a week after she was told she had been suspended.
The unanimous decision was made at the June meeting of the IBTS board yesterday.
In a brief statement, the board said: "The board of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service at its meeting on Wednesday 12 June 2002 considered all the issues surrounding Dr Power's absence from duty on administrative leave. The board decided that Dr Power could take rest days for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and resume duty in the morning."
A spokesman for the IBTS said he could not elaborate on the reasons for the original suspension but that the issue of her not being on duty had been resolved.
It is understood that Dr Power was called in at the end of the meeting to be told of her reinstatement, and was told it did not consider she had withheld any information from the board and that her medical practice was not in question.
Mr Finbar Fitzpatrick, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, spokesman expressed surprise at the use of the term "administrative leave", but added that Dr Power was happy with the outcome.
This is not the first time that Dr Power has clashed with the IBTS. Some years ago, she took an action against Mr Hynes, on the grounds of bullying. She lost the action and did not appeal.
Last year, she claimed the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children had been misled by the IBTS in its submissions to the Dáil inquiry into the blood transfusion scandal. Subsequently, the Flynn report on the service was commissioned but its findings have never been made public.The report is understood to have been critical of both sides.