THE Government will not contemplate suing the US pharmaceutical firms whose blood products infected haemophiliacs until it finds a case it believes it can win.

The Government will decide in late May if it will sue US pharmaceutical firms over contaminated blood products.

A FORMER blood bank official who was facing criminal charges relating to the blood transfusion scandal has died.

A LONDON-based law firm has been engaged by the Government to investigate the role played by US-based pharmaceutical firms in the blood contamination scandal.

The Irish Haemophilia Society has welcomed a move by Health Minister Mary Harney to investigate the role of international drug firms in Hepatitis C and HIV infection scandals.

THE State has paid in excess of €320 million in recent years for tribunals, commissions and inquiries, new figures have revealed.

WHILE the chief whistleblowers at the centre of the tribunal investigating garda corruption in Donegal have been denied paid legal representation, the Department of Justice has paid almost €250,000 to barristers just to keep a watching brief on proceedings.

The Irish Haemophilia Society is reportedly furious at the Government’s failure to honour commitments made in the wake of the Lindsay Tribunal.

HAEMOPHILIACS infected by contaminated blood products have accused the Government of stonewalling in its pledge to examine the drug companies that supplied the tainted stock.

HAEMOPHILIACS have been waiting almost two years for the Government to come up with a formula for examining the role played by the US-based pharmaceutical firms in the blood contamination crisis.

IRELAND is the first country in the world to set a new safety standard by electronically tracking blood products given to people with the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia.

THE Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s inability to respond to every cry for help is troubling newly-appointed chief executive Rosemary Daly.

TWO former senior blood bank officials are to stand trial accused of infecting women with hepatitis C in an unprecedented action which could have implications for other investigations into contaminated blood products.

ROSEMARY DALY, the tough-talking woman who led a tiny Irish haemophilia community in their fight for justice, now feels her efforts were a waste of time.

A report into the finances of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service has found that a failure to budget properly contributed to a €4.5m deficit in the year 2000.

FINANCE Minister Charlie McCreevy is clamping down on the exorbitant costs of tribunals and inquiries - particularly in the health sector.

Political Editor

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell last night rejected calls for the widening of the terms of reference of the Morris Tribunal into allegations of garda misconduct in Donegal.

THE Government is committed to launching an inquiry into the role of international drug firms in the blood contamination scandal despite the cost concerns raised by a senior minister.

THE charging of Armour Pharmaceuticals in connection with the death of an Irish boy infected with tainted blood was a vindication of the Irish Haemophilia Society’s campaign for a State inquiry into the role of international drug companies.

HE'S been man of the match more than once in his career, but being named man of the year had even the Mighty Quinn feeling humbled.

Frank McBrearty Jnr, one of several people who have accused Co Donegal gardai of harassment, has vowed not to co-operate with the Morris Tribunal unless its terms of reference are widened.

The overdue Dáil debate on the report of the Lindsay Tribunal into the infection of haemophiliacs with HIV and hepatitis C produced a call for another investigation into at least one aspect of this appalling episode - one of the worst in the history of the State.

IT all got too much for one victim of the blood contamination scandal when the Dáil resumed its debate on the Lindsay Tribunal report yesterday.

HEALTH Minister Micheál Martin has apologised and expressed profound regret to haemophiliacs and their families for the pain and suffering caused by the blood contamination scandal.

JOHN SCALLAN will not see the Dáil send the Lindsay Tribunal report to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

REFERRING the Lindsay Report to the Director of Public Prosecutions is a laudable initiative. But despite the fact that 79 people have died, it is questionable if this bland document will result in prosecutions against those responsible for one of greatest public health scandals in the history of the State.

The Government is to refer the contents of the Lindsay Tribunal report to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

HEALTH Minister Micheál Martin may ask the High Court to appoint an inspector to investigate the role of international drug companies in supplying contaminated blood to Irish haemophiliacs.

THE Blood Transfusion Service Board has been strongly criticised by the Lindsay Tribunal report for its role in infecting seven haemophiliacs with HIV and a larger number of people with Hepatitis C.

WITH the publication of the findings of the Lindsay Tribunal, and the recommendations it contains, hopefully one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the State will be finally concluded — except for one issue.

The Irish Haemophilia Society has welcomed the publication today of the Lindsay Tribunal’s final report.

Health Minister Micheal Martin has welcomed the publication of the Lindsay Tribunal’s final report.

The long-awaited report from the tribunal investigating the infection of haemophiliacs with HIV and Hepatitis C has not recommended criminal prosecutions by the DPP.

THE issue of tainted blood was the greatest bureaucratic scandal of the 20th century in Ireland. It has already involved more than 75 premature deaths. That total is likely to increase to more than €200.

The Lindsay Tribunal, which is investigating the infection of Irish haemophiliacs with contaminated blood products supplied by the State, is expected to finish its work this afternoon.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has denied that haemophiliacs suffered unnecessarily because of financial considerations during the economic recession in the 1980s.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has denied that it engaged in a cover-up with the Department of Health to ensure that the truth about the infection of haemophiliacs with HIV and Hepatitis C was never revealed.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service has described the infection of Irish haemophiliacs with HIV and Hepatitis C as "the greatest tragedy of its kind ever to take place in Ireland".

The Irish Haemophiliac Society has lambasted a second leading haemophilia consultant in its closing submission to the Lindsay Tribunal.

The man widely regarded as the founder of modern haemophiliac treatment in Ireland has received stringing criticism at the Lindsay Tribunal.

The Irish Haemophiliac Society has slammed the conduct of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service in its closing submission to the Lindsay Tribunal.

Lawyers for the Lindsay Tribunal have failed to apportion blame in their closing statement to the inquiry today.

The Lindsay Tribunal will draw to a close today, as final submissions are presented by the parties.