Vol. 558 No. 5
312 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason for his decision to challenge the hepatitis C ruling to allow victims of this disease appeal their awards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25141/02]
313 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will consider the special case of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry, in view of his decision to challenge the High Court ruling allowing an appeal of their awards by hepatitis C victims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25142/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 313 together.
The High Court ruled on 31 July that where an individual accepts an award from the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal, that person is entitled to appeal the amount of the award to the High Court at any time.
The High Court was incorrect in its interpretation of the intentions of the Oireachtas when it enacted section 5(9)(a) of the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act, 1997. This provides that:
where the Tribunal makes an award to a claimant, the claimant shall have a period of one month or such time as may be prescribed from the date of receiving notice of the making of the award during which the claimant may decide in writing either to accept or reject the award or to appeal the award under subsection (15).
I do not believe the Oireachtas envisaged that all claimants would be able to accept their tribunal award and appeal, which is the effect of the court's ruling. I also believe that the time limit provided for in section 5(9)(a) is not capable of extension by the court. In the light of legal advice I received I have instructed that the ruling be appealed to the Supreme Court.
In relation to the specific case mentioned by the Deputy, I have recently received correspondence from the person in question which appears to indicate that she may have an interest in the outcome of the appeal to the Supreme Court. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further until the court's judgment comes to hand.
