I raise the matter of the Government bringing forward more than the draft heads of legislation regarding the hepatitis C scandal. The heads of a Bill have no legal effect. They are a general outline and the details of the Bill could be considerably different. The victims of this scandal have asked that the Bill be enacted before the general election. Fianna Fáil has given a commitment to facilitate the Bill provided it meets the demands of victims. That commitment stands and should be availed of as a matter of urgency. Unfortunately, the Government continues to display unbelievable arrogance in this matter which was highlighted last Wednesday. The victims set 16 April as the deadline for receipt of the proposed legislation. That deadline was set because in the past the victims were double-crossed by the Government and promises not honoured.
When the Taoiseach was told of the deadline last Wednesday, his response was not to be humbled by his Government's handling of the scandal. He said that the Government set its own deadlines. This arrogant and dismissive response proved that the Government has not changed its attitude. Although the victims have been waiting nearly two years for justice, the Taoiseach still thought they had a cheek. This proves he has not grasped the enormity of the scandal or the State's responsibility in the matter.
Today's events prove that the victims were very wise to have set a deadline. The Minister met the victims tonight because they had set today as the last date for the receipt of the proposed legislation. Despite knowing that today was the deadline, the Minister did not have the final heads of the Bill ready; he had a draft that the Government could change, and this was only available after pressure was applied.
The Government has had two years' notice of the requirement for this legislation. In December 1995, lawyers for the Government and for the victims met to draft it, but the Minister pulled the plug on the process. Some of the work was done because the victims had submitted a draft Bill drawn up by senior counsel. The Government must now assign every resource in the parliamentary draftsman's office to getting the Bill published by the end of this week. The Minister has promised to do many things for hepatitis C victims; it is no doubt an effort to keep the focus off his own failures in this scandal. This damage limitation exercise included the cynical relaunch of a document on women's health which was only done to present the Minister in a positive light on those issues.
The Minister has a poor track record of delivering on promises made to hepatitis C victims. In the programme for Government, there was a promise to pay fair compensation. This may happen after two years and four months. Another commitment victims remember is the Minister's promise to consult them before publishing the Healthcare Bill for hepatitis C, but that did not happen. They also remember his announcement of the ad hoc compensation tribunal while negotiating with them about it. The Minister must put what he has promised in law. He must take the concerns of the victims on board, including the points of Positive Action and Transfusion Positive.
The Government should come clean on its involvement in the despicable legal strategy used in the case of the late Brigid McCole. The Tánaiste failed to clarify this in his speech last weekend. He and the rest of the Government have failed to account for their involvement in the strong-arm legal strategy. Despite many calls to do so, the Tánaiste has failed to confirm that he spoke to the Minister for Health in early summer 1996 about the McCole legal action. It is clear that the Tánaiste acquiesced in the legal strategy and the attempts to force Mrs. McCole to go to the compensation tribunal rather than face an admission of liability in court. If this Government continues to refuse to divulge in full the circumstances in which the legal strategy was devised and to lay before the Oireachtas all relevant documentation, including documentation from the Chief State Solicitor's office, when in Government Fianna Fáil will investigate the matter in full.
