THE Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, told the House of the Government's decision to establish a new tribunal of inquiry into further issues when the hepatitis C tribunal reported.

The Government had not taken the decision lightly. It believed that a tribunal was the best way of getting at the truth "and the truth is the most important expectation of those whose health has been inflected by blood and blood products".

He was responding to a Fianna Fail motion in private members' time noting the decision of the Irish Haemophilia Society to withdraw from the hepatitis C tribunal and calling on the Minister to amend the tribunal's terms of reference to embrace "all the victims of this scandal".

Mr Noonan proposed an amendment welcoming his announcement of a new tribunal of inquiry into the HIV infection of blood and blood products manufactured by the Blood Transfusion Service Board and such other matters as might require investigation following the report of the hepatitis C tribunal.

He appealed to blood donors to continue to donate their blood. "These donors have been magnificent, especially during the last few years." The use of unpaid donors was the Department's policy. "This is also the EU policy on blood supplies and I would be most anxious to ensure that this continues to be the position in Ireland."

In finalising the terms of reference of the new tribunal particular attention would be paid to the concerns of the Irish Haemophilia Society.

He hoped the terms of reference of the new inquiry would be drawn up and brought before the Dail soon. However, it would not be possible to do this until the final report of the hepatitis C tribunal was presented. It was expected that oral hearings of the tribunal would end this week and that the report would be presented by the end of February.

The Fianna Fail spokeswoman on health, Mrs Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, said the Government's proposal would not address the difficulties involved, and was another fudge "in this State-based horror story of hepatitis C".

She believed the Fianna Fail proposal to widen the terms of reference of the current tribunal to investigate haemophiliacs' issues relating to hepatitis C was the best way to proceed.

Welcoming the Minister's decision to investigate the HIV episode, which was highlighted late last year, she said it once again emphasised that the Blood Transfusion Service Board had a long way to go before it was transformed into a model of public account ability.

But, as the Minister and Minister of State for Health knew, there was one specific case of HIV contamination which was currently being prepared for the courts. "In this specific case, involving the South Eastern Health Board, there is a time constraint, much similar to that which obtained in the Mrs McCole case."

She knew, she said, that there would be requests for files and other information. "I would ask Minister that, for once, your Department and the BTSB would respond in a caring and compassionate way to that very specific case where, as I said, time is against the individual involved."

Mrs Geoghegan-Quinn said the ease might be dealt with by way of a non-public hearing or in some way by Mr Justice Finlay. It should take priority over all of the others.

She added that if the interim report of the hepatitis C tribunal was anything to go by, the final report would make no reference to the difficulties which haemophiliacs were encountering relating to hepatitis C.

"Instead of approaching the blood tragedy through its famous pane of glass, this Government fled from accountability and rejected transparency. Even if they had to denigrate the dying, and attack the advisers of the sick to do it, this Government lost sight of the victims, lost sight of the women, men and children whose blood the State had poisoned. It lost sight of present pain and indeed the dark dread of the future that an infection like this brings with it."

She said it was the 25th occasion on which she had raised the hepatitis C scandal in the House. While it would be her last time leading the debate on the issue, she did not doubt that there would have to be further debates. Previous debates had shown that the Minister for Health and the Government had a blind spot relating to the scandal.