A statutory inquiry into the organ-retention scandal was today ruled by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin.
Martin rules out inquiry
He said it would not be practical to wind down the Dunne inquiry into organ-retention as the whole process would "be set back years".
Revelations over the past month that glands were retained without consent by a number of hospitals has outraged Parents for Justice, the support group for families.
Its chairwoman, Ms Fionnuala O'Reilly, called for a statutory inquiry into the scandal, claiming the current inquiry - which depends on voluntary co-operation from all parties - cannot get to the bottom of what happened.
Mr Martin said the recent revelations regarding the retention of pituitary glands by certain hospitals and supplying them to the pharmaceutical industry, were as a direct result of the investigations of the Dunne inquiry.
"The only effective way to deal with this is through the current inquiry. . . . If you try to put it on a statutory basis you'll set it back for a number of years," he added.
The inquiry into organ retention has been running since March 2001 and has so far cost €15 million. It is chaired by Ms Anne Dunne SC.
The Minister added that he "didn't realise it [organ retention] was on the scale that has emerged".
With the first report of the Dunne inquiry due in late December, Mr Martin said that it was now important to "bridge the gap" between how medics viewed the situation and how parents viewed it.
He said the retention of pituitary glands was used to manufacture human growth hormone necessary for the treatment of children with growth hormone deficiency which "improved or in some cases prolonged the lives of children".