The Minister for Health was accused yesterday of following a policy of "delay, concealment by inadvertence, and lack of interest" because of the failure to establish a tribunal of inquiry for haemophiliacs.
The Irish Haemophilia Society (IHS) said negotiations on the terms of reference for this tribunal of inquiry had been conducted with Mr Cowen and Department officials over the past 2 1/2 years and there had been constant delays.
An IHS spokeswoman, Ms Rosemary Daly, said the Government had approved establishment of a tribunal of inquiry that required final terms of reference to be brought back to Cabinet by the end of March.
The Government had also furnished "a commitment to review the 1991 political settlement" for people who became infected through contaminated blood products with HIV to ensure fair and equitable compensation. "No progress has been made from the date of said commitment," she said.
Mr Cowen said there were many complex issues involved and the IHS and the Attorney General's office had to take advice as to what was the jurisdiction of the tribunal in respect of matters outside the State.
"We are not just looking into products here that the BTSB [Blood Transfusion Service Board] provided as far back as the 1980s, but also products from American pharmaceutical companies and the important issue of jurisdiction and how we might be able to address all the issues that everyone wants addressed in a practical and coherent fashion," Mr Cowen said on RTE radio.
He said he understood the frustration at the time it was taking "to get this right". He said a solution had now been found which would allow a tribunal to investigate outside the State. He expected to have the final draft available from the Attorney General's office within the next week.
However, Ms Daly said there were serious questions as to the role of the Department "which in itself is to be investigated by the tribunal - in investigating the terms of reference".