Mr Michael Noonan has admitted that he handled the McCole case badly as Minister for Health. He said it has changed the way he thought and felt about issues.
In his most frank comments on the case yet, on RTE's Prime Time, the favourite to be elected Fine Gael leader said last night:
"If I was doing it again I would not do it the way I did it. I relied on legal advice, and I should have relied more on political advice."
He was referring to the controversy over his handling of the case of Mrs Brigid McCole, who died from Hepatitis C infection as a result of blood products administered by the Blood Transfusion Services Board.
As Mrs McCole was fatally ill, the BTSB threatened her with the prospect of facing enormous legal costs if she pursued her claim for compensation in the manner she was doing.
Mr Noonan said he accepted the criticisms made of him that he should have intervened with the BTSB to prevent them from taking such an aggressive legal stance in relation to Mrs McCole.
He said the case was one of the "times in one's personal and political life when an event changes the way you think and feel about things.
"I would say I have changed as a result of . . . the Mrs McCole case and the anguish it has created for her family. I accept the criticism that was made of me."