Former minister for finance and now EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy says he acted in good faith when he wrote to the then minister for health in 2003 asking him to investigate a way for a controversial US plastic surgeon to operate on disfigured children.
Plastic surgeon Dr Michael Sachs is the subject of a New York state investigation following the death in March of a Limerick woman after she underwent routine surgery at his Manhattan clinic.
It has also emerged that Dr Sachs has settled 33 malpractice lawsuits since 1995.
In January 2003, Mr McCreevy wrote to Micheál Martin asking him to investigate the possibility of inviting Dr Sachs to carry out free operations on children "who are severely disfigured and who cannot afford to undergo plastic surgery themselves". Mr McCreevy said Dr Sachs was "a very famous" and "eminent American cosmetic plastic surgeon".
A spokeswoman for the commissioner told The Irish Times yesterday: "Mr McCreevy acted in good faith at that time and has no further comment to make on the matter."
Labour Party spokeswoman on health Liz McManus described Mr McCreevy's actions as "bizarre" and called for tighter regulation of the cosmetic surgery sector.
"Many clinics provide cosmetic procedures, yet there are no regulations in place to protect patients," she said. "This has serious implications, particularly if a procedure was to go wrong or there were complications.
"I have been calling for the publication of the Medical Practitioners Bill which would improve regulation."
In a letter to the chief executive of Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, two consultant plastic surgeons said they found Mr McCreevy's proposal "rather baffling" and pointed out that "the Irish health service does in fact provide reconstructive plastic surgery" and they were "unaware of any children who have been refused treatment because they cannot afford it".
Kay Cregan (42) died in a New York hospital on March 17th.