Hepatitis C tribunal is to consider legal procedures this week

The Lindsay tribunal on the infection of haemophiliacs with HIV and hepatitis C will sit this Thursday to consider procedures…

The Lindsay tribunal on the infection of haemophiliacs with HIV and hepatitis C will sit this Thursday to consider procedures, and applications for legal representation and costs.

The tribunal met last September to hear applications on these issues.

The tribunal was set up following a lengthy campaign by the Irish Haemophilia Society.

The society has sought, but failed, to obtain full legal representation at the earlier tribunal inquiring into the contamination with hepatitis C of blood products delivered by the Blood Transfusion Service Board. The society then withdrew from that tribunal.

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In its campaign the society said 210 of the estimated 400 haemophilia sufferers in Ireland were infected with hepatitis C between the mid-1970s and 1990. During the 1980s, 103 were infected with the HIV virus.

These two diseases, particularly HIV, have been responsible for all but two of the 68 deaths of people suffering from haemophilia in the past 15 years.

In January 1997 the then coalition government decided to establish a new tribunal to examine the contamination of blood products with HIV. This was later expanded to include hepatitis C.

This summer, Judge Alison Lindsay of the circuit court was appointed chairwoman and sole member of the tribunal.

Its counsel are Mr John Finlay SC, Mr Gerard Durcan SC, Mr Patrick McCann and Ms Grainne Clohessy, instructed by Ms Anne Spain of the Chief State Solicitor's office.