Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 24 Oct 1995

Vol. 457 No. 4

Written Answers. - Assistance for Women with Hepatitis C.

Ivor Callely

Ceist:

110 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health the progress, if any, that has been made to meet the recommendations of the Positive Action Group to assist women infected with hepatitis C through contaminated blood products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15651/95]

Minister for Health (Mr. Noonan,

Limerick East): Treatment for those diagnosed positive for hepatitis C, is being provided at six designated hospitals: Beaumont Hospital, Dublin; Mater Hospital, Dublin; St. James's Hospital, Dublin; St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin; Cork University Hospital; and University College Hospital, Galway.

A counselling service is available on a nationwide basis. The counselling service is currently being reviewed to ensure that the service is responsible to the great variety of needs of those diagnosed positive for hepatitis C. All the services being provided in the public hospital system at present are being provided on a statutory basis under the Health Acts. Similarly, the persons availing of these services are exercising their statutory rights to free public hospital services under the Health Acts.

I have assured Positive Action that those services currently in place under the Health Acts for those diagnosed positive for hepatitis C will remain as long as required. In addition, I have made a number of substantial proposals in respect of the long-term health care needs of those who have contracted hepatitis C. These include: general practitioner services free of charge for all those who have contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion, anti D or another blood product. This will require an amendment of the Health Act; a specific provision in the Book of Estimates in respect of the funding of hospital and counselling services for those who have contracted hepatitis C. This would allow any change in the funding of these services to be subject to detailed scrutiny by the Oireachtas; the establishment and funding of a special programme of research on hepatitis C by the Health Research Board, HRB; and the establishment of a statutory consultative council to advise the Minister for Health on matters relating to hepatitis C. The membership of the consultative council, which will be appointed by the Minister for Health, will include two persons nominated by Positive Action.

The policy document,A Government of Renewal, published in December 1994, included a commitment to fair compensation for women infected by the hepatitis C virus from anti D. The Government decided in April last to establish, as a matter of urgency, a tribunal which will assess compensation on an ex-gratia basis in respect of anti D recipients who are infected with hepatitis C antibodies-virus and the partners and children of these women who are also infected with hepatitis C antibodies-virus. I met this commitment when I published the scheme for a compensation tribunal, which has been approved by Government.

Among the many aspects of the scheme are that proceedings before the tribunal will be informal and private; negligence need not be proved; the burden of proof will be on the balance of probabilities; and there is preservation of a right of action should a claimant decide not to accept an award. Awards from the tribunal will be made according to the principles of the law of tort either on a lump sum basis or on a provisional basis with a right to make a further claim in the event of a serious deterioration in the claimants health in the future.

The scheme is designed specifically to provide compensation, at the earliest possible date for those who contracted hepatitis C from the use of Human Immunoglobulin, anti D, while retaining an informal and flexible approach to do justice to the great variety of circumstances and conditions of claimants. The tribunal will be chaired by the Honourable Mr. Justice Egan, Judge of the Supreme Court, and I hope to be in a position to establish it in the coming weeks.