Politicians should travel to the United States to probe thousands of files held following legal action against US pharmaceutical firms by haemophiliacs infected with hepatitis C, Fine Gael has said.
The proposal will be made today to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children by Fine Gael's spokesman on health, Mr Gay Mitchell. The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, has ordered a senior counsel to view the papers held by courts in Florida, which will be available only for a limited period.
Judge Alison Lindsay, who is heading the investigation into the Blood Transfusion Service, has refused to extend her terms of reference to probe the role of the US drugs companies.
Mr Mitchell said he believed that the Minister for Health now wanted to put the issue before an Oireachtas committee. The FG TD said he doubted this could be achieved before the general election looms.
He suggested that the Minister should create a new tribunal, with tightly written terms of reference. "The judge could report, whether the drugs companies co-operated, or not."
A visit by TDs to the US could be helpful, however. "It would keep the pressure on the Minister and they could see what exactly is there. We should not have to depend on the advice of third-party advice from civil servants, or barristers."
The chairman of the joint committee, Fianna Fβil TD Mr Batt O'Keeffe was less than enthusiastic. Access to the documents required a US court order.
The Irish Haemophiliac Society last week complained at the delay in establishing a new inquiry. The senior counsel's work was just "a time-wasting exercise", said the IHS' administrator, Ms Rosemary Daly.
As estimated 252 haemophiliacs were infected with HIV, and, or hepatitis C after they received contaminated clotting treatments from the Blood Transfusion Service.
