Consultant to get agreed clarification in the media

After a seven-week delay the State is expected to place an agreed clarification in the national media concerning a Dublin consultant…

After a seven-week delay the State is expected to place an agreed clarification in the national media concerning a Dublin consultant who had criticism against him removed from the hepatitis C inquiry report.

Dr James Kirrane's legal team had threatened to return to the High Court over the delay in publishing the clarification, as agreed in the High Court at the start of March.

Following the court case, Positive Action, the group representing women infected with anti-D, had expressed concern at the outcome. It is believed the group had particular concerns about the wording of the clarification.

Dr Kirrane, a consultant pathologist, initiated legal proceedings last year challenging a section of the hepatitis C tribunal report which concluded that he bore "some responsibility for the contamination of blood products by failing to insist on a greater investigation of patients to the anti-D products".

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Positive Action said that while it fully accepted Dr Kirrane's right to take an action, it was shocked at the removal of comments concerning him from the report.

The group claimed only a public rehearing of the issues in contention could enable any aspect of the report to be addressed.

According to Government sources the clarification had not been published because the State had not yet received written correspondence from the High Court detailing the order made. It is believed this was sent to the Attorney General's office in recent days.

Discussion had apparently taken place since then between Dr Kirrane's legal team and the State concerning the placing of the notices and their prominence in national newspapers.

The agreed wording of the advertisement states that any findings in the report which expressly or by implication attributed any blame or responsibility to Dr Kirrane for any of the matters investigated by the tribunal should be regarded as null, void and of no effect.