The Minister for Health and Children is to meet the Irish Haemophilia Society today in an effort to reach agreement on the twin issues of compensation for HIV-infected haemophiliacs and the establishment of a new tribunal of inquiry into the infections ahead of the general election.
Mr Martin is due to present the society with the heads of a Bill giving effect to a promised revision of a 1991 "no fault" settlement with those infected.
He is also to discuss the findings of a report by Mr Paul Gardiner SC into the feasibility of investigating the role of overseas pharmaceutical companies in the infection tragedy.
Both issues were raised at yesterday's Cabinet meeting. However, no decision was made on whether to establish a tribunal of inquiry on the drugs firms.
The Minister said yesterday he would discuss the full contents of the so-called Gardiner report with the IHS before making a decision on the matter. He noted the advice of American lawyers, whose opin- ion Mr Gardiner had sought, could have an impact on that decision.
Mr Gardiner was asked by the Minister to travel to the US to investigate the matter after the chairwoman of the Lindsay tribunal ruled last July against inquiring into the companies, contrary to the wishes of the IHS.
The report is expected to lay out the legal obstacles to such an inquiry rather than recommend what the Minister should do. As part of his inquiries, Mr Gardiner examined the prospect of acces- sing documentation held in a Florida depository which relate to the infections and were used in litigation in the US.
The IHS has argued that, because many of the pharmaceutical companies have offices in the Republic, a tribunal of inquiry would be entitled to demand their testimony. It is not clear, however, whether employees in parent companies in the US would be obliged to give evidence.
As for the settlement review, Mr Martin has indicated his willingness to expedite the introduction of legislation which would allow for additional payments to haemophiliacs infected with HIV. He is understood to have agreed to make lawyers from his Department available for meetings with IHS lawyers this weekend to hammer out a deal.
The compensation review follows the Government's admission in 1999 that the 1991 settlement, which then cost the State around €10 million, was not fair.
The 11-year-old settlement contained a crude scale of payments from £20,000 (€25,400) to the family of a deceased haemophiliac with no dependants to a maximum of £100,000 (€127,000) for a married man with children who was still alive. Haemophiliacs told the Lindsay tribunal last year how they felt they had no choice but to sign the deal as to do otherwise would have deprived fellow victims, who were dying, of some late comfort in their lives.
An estimated 105 haemophiliacs were infected with HIV through imported and BTSB-made blood products. Some 64 have since died.
Today's meeting follows the decision to begin serving writs against the Minister over his failure to legislate on the review. The society pledged to serve one writ a week until the general election unless the matter is resolved.
