Vol. 517 No. 3
219 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement on reports that his Department sought key changes prior to publication of a report, commissioned from a team from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, on hepatitis C services for those infected through blood product contamination. [9996/00]
My Department did not seek key changes prior to publication of a report on hepatitis C services.
The position is that my predecessor, Deputy Brian Cowen, asked the consultative council on hepatitis C to direct, co-ordinate and oversee a review of the health services available for persons who contracted hepatitis C within the State through the administration of blood and blood products. The council contracted with the Health Services Research Centre at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to carry out the review on its behalf.
The consultative council set up a sub-committee to oversee the review and liaise with the research team at the centre. The subcommittee comprised members of the council, including a representative of Positive Action, a consultant hepatologist from St. Vincent's Hospital, a hepatitis C liaison officer from the Mid-Western Health Board and an official from my Department. It was chaired by the former chief executive officer of the Health Research Board.
The sub-committee submitted observations to the authors on draft texts of the report which reflected the views of the committee. At no stage were these observations represented as the views of my Department. The draft report was approved for publication by the consultative council and was presented to me by the Council on 14 March last.
