I accuse the Government of once again putting the victims of hepatitis C through the wringer. I call on the Minister for Health, Deputy Noonan to quickly amend his proposals for aggravated damages to the victims and bring forward long-promised legislation to put the compensation tribunal on a statutory basis.
The ongoing delay in this matter is difficult to understand. The Minister has tonight signalled to the victims that he has to go back to Government next Tuesday before he can give agreement. Either the Government does not trust the Minister to handle this matter and has not given him a negotiating mandate or it is once again playing games with the victims. The Taoiseach, in replying to my many queries in the Dáil, said that getting agreement on this legislation is a top priority. Yet, the Minister for Health claims he does not have the answers to straightforward matters put to him by the victims, which one would expect a junior official to anticipate as questions arise. If the matter is as urgent as the Taoiseach claims it is, why is the special Cabinet meeting on the matter not being held tomorrow? Will the Minister tell me tonight where matters stand and what work is really under way?
The victims have been told by the Minister they must wait until next Tuesday at the earliest before they can get a reply. This means it is most likely the legislation will not be passed before the general election. At the rate the Minister, Deputy Noonan, is going, the victims will be lucky to get a reply, not to mention a Bill, before the election is called.
Amendment must be made to the Minister's proposals on aggravated damages. Fianna Fáil is concerned that the Minister is attempting to limit the scope of awards for aggravated damages to only some categories of victims. This arises because the draft documents refer to the Finlay tribunal alone. That tribunal investigated only matters relating to contaminated anti-D victims. Another tribunal is yet to be established to investigate matters relating to transfusion victims, haemophiliacs and kidney patients. However, there is no reference to this tribunal in the Minister's documents. Despite promises made in the Dáil as far back as January of this year, the terms of reference of this tribunal have not even been brought forward for consideration by the Minister.
Fianna Fáil is also concerned at reports that the Minister plans to introduce enabling legislation and will only then establish a statutory tribunal by way of statutory instrument. The victims have always made it clear they wish the tribunal to be established under primary statute and not by a secondary measure such as a statutory instrument which could possibly be rescinded by a ministerial order that would not have to come before this Dáil. A commitment to put a tribunal on a statutory footing in the aftermath of the biggest scandal in the history of the State should come before this House for the most intense scrutiny and examination. If the Members of this House, as representatives of the people, are to be seen as righting the State's wrong, why is there continued reticence to publish the Bill or the heads, or to deal with the matter by enactment of primary legislation? Why is there reticence about having a full and frank democratic debate on this issue in the House?
All the evidence suggests a Government which continues to be more concerned with being saved from further embarrassment and is more sensitive to the protection of its image than addressing the substance of the just cause of these victims. The enactment of primary legislation might exorcise the guilt of Members of this Government who have dealt with this matter ineptly and insensitively.
Fianna Fáil calls on the Minister to clarify his proposals on compensation and the reparation fund. What he has offered falls far short of what the victims seek. There is no agreement on this issue. We are concerned the Minister has not fully addressed the issues raised by the victims, including Positive Action and Transfusion Positive, who have put forward a series of proposals which have not yet been included in the latest plan. These include matters regarding the reparation fund, rights of appeal to the High Court, the application of the statute of limitations, life assurance and mortgage protection for victims, private hospital facilities, VHI care, increased funding for research and compensation for families of deceased victims. If the State had treated the victims fairly and honestly from the start, there might not be a need for the payment of aggravated damages. However, the oppressive manner in which the victims have been treated gives from strong legal rights which have to be acknowledged in this House.
I also call on the Minister to explain the Government's decision to only admit liability in certain Hepatitis C cases. A reply to a parliamentary question I tabled stated that the admission of liability is restricted to just 28 cases out of upwards of 1,800. Why is the State admitting liability in those cases? This smacks of more legal manoeuvring by the Government, rather than an upfront admission. I hope the limited admission of liability is a precursor to the State admitting its role in the offensive legal strategy used against the late Mrs. McCole.
I ask the Minister to commit himself to laying all Government memoranda and correspondence between State agencies on the McCole case before the Dáil. I also call on the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister, Deputy Howlin, to give a commitment that they will come before the Dáil Select Committee on Social Affairs to explain why they acquiesced in the use of heavy-handed legal tactics to intimidate Mrs. McCole against taking a High Court legal action.