The Government's decision in the late 1980s to oppose compensation for haemophiliacs infected with HIV was informed by inaccurate and incomplete information on the extent of the State's responsibility for the infections, the tribunal heard yesterday.
Mr Michael Lyons, former principal officer at the Department of Health, said a briefing document which he prepared for a Dail debate on the issue in April 1989 contained what would appear today to be inaccuracies.
The document stated that Ireland had not had a case of HIV or AIDS related to an Irish donor when, in fact, a number of such cases were known to the BTSB from as early as 1986.
It also stated erroneously that only heat-treated products were used in the State from 1985 as soon as heat-treatment to guard against HIV became available. In fact, untreated BTSB factor 9 continued to be used up to February 1986.
Mr Lyons said the document was used to influence the Government's strategy on a private member's motion seeking the establishment of a £400,000-ayear trust fund for infected haemophiliacs. The success of the Labour party motion led to a decision by the then Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, to call a general election.
Mr Lyons said the Government remained under the same misapprehensions regarding the issue throughout its negotiations on compensation in 1991 with the Irish Haemophilia Society.
He said he found this situation "highly regrettable" and relevant information should have been provided "fully and openly" to the Department.
He said he had relied to a significant degree on the BTSB for the information which went into his 1989 memorandum, although he also consulted the National Drugs Advisory Board, the Irish Haemophilia Society and Department officials.
He said the BTSB did not tell him either in the context of drafting the memo or at any other time about the infection of haemophilia B patients with BTSB factor 9. The first he heard of it was through the IHS which claimed "informally" that two of its members may have been infected through Irish product.
Mr Lyons said it did not raise any particular alarm bells at the time and he did not consult the BTSB on the matter.
Mr Gerry Durcan SC, for the tribunal, asked Mr Lyons whether he had seen an Irish Times report by Dr David Nowlan from June 1986 which suggested native factor 9 was responsible for infections. Mr Lyons said as far as he could recall the article was shown to him no sooner than May 1991 when he was collating material for consideration by the Government in the context of the legal settlement.
Asked whether any investigations were carried out following his reading of the article, Mr Lyons replied that the question of differentiating or establishing what caused the infections was not an issue at that stage. As haemophiliacs were beginning to die from AIDS, he said the Department was concentrating on reaching a settlement as quickly as possible.
Mr Durcan noted that had investigations been carried out the Department could have discovered that the BTSB had records which showed it was "highly probable" native factor 9 was responsible for infections. Mr Lyons agreed it would have been better to have put these documents before the Government but this did not seem to have been done.
He noted that while the Government's primary motivation in seeking a settlement was the "humanitarian consideration" there were other factors including State liability and "possible exposure".
The IHS, which initiated legal proceedings against the State in autumn 1989, had sought compensation of £15.5 million. However, the Government approved a fund of just £8 million in July 1991 as part of a "no-fault" settlement.
