The Government has shown no signs of approving funding for the construction of a new premises for the Cork blood bank, although a tribunal recommended seven years ago that work on the building should begin immediately.
The blood bank's chief executive, Mr Andrew Kelly, said yesterday that a design brief for the centre costing €28 million had been submitted to the Department of Health in March 2003 but he was still waiting for the go-ahead.
Since approval was sought for the project, the Irish Medicines Board expressed concern about the state of the Cork building and the blood bank was forced to act. It is now spending €3 million on "interim" developments to deal with the IMB's concerns and has erected prefabricated structures.
Mr Kelly said the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, was supportive but Finance had to agree to funding the project. He added that even if funding were approved now, it would probably be four years before the new centre would be ready for use.
That would be more than a decade after the Finlay tribunal, which inquired into the infection of women with hepatitis C through anti-D, recommended the "appropriate renewal of the premises and equipment in the Cork unit whether by major overhaul in reconstruction or by the provision of new premises should be immediately commenced".
Mr Kelly was speaking at the publication of the 2003 annual report of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service yesterday. The service's medical director, Dr William Murphy, stressed the need for people to donate blood regularly. He said hospitals would face a "crisis" unless the numbers giving blood increased. Some 3,000 donations are needed every week and the need for blood is growing as the population of elderly people grow and undergo more operations.
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