The Medical Council's five-year inquiry into the conduct of Dr Moira Woods sat for 43 days and cost over £750,000, the council said yesterday.
The inquiry began in 1997 but was held up by legal wrangling over confidentiality. The families had requested a public inquiry but following objections from the Eastern Health Board over releasing documents, the High Court ruled that the inquiry be held in private.
It was the longest fitness-to-practise inquiry in the history of the Medical Council. The full costs were not yet available as the council had not received all the bills, said Mr Brian Lea, Medical Council registrar.
Prof Gerard Bury, the council's president, said the report would not be published until the High Court proceedings over confidentiality were finished. One complainant has said he will publish the transcripts on the Internet.
Prof Bury said the Medical Council would be offering the reports "on a private and confidential basis to the families, but clearly it's then a matter for those families".
Asked why the inquiry took so long, Prof Bury said, "The complexity was just extraordinary." Dr John Hillery, vice-president of the council, said the members of the inquiry all had other work commitments. Also, the time set aside had to suit the witnesses and complainants.
Meanwhile, the families who initiated the case will call for a statutory inquiry into Dr Woods's work when they meet on Monday.
Vocal Ireland, a group representing people claiming they were falsely accused of abuse, said the families wanted an inquiry similar to the Lindsay tribunal.
They have called on politicians, legal and health professionals to attend the meeting to show their support. It will take place at 8 p.m. in Buswells Hotel, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.
