Barry warned he is still banned from practicing

A DOCTOR accused of indecently assaulting more than 30 of his female patients has been warned that he continues to be prohibited from practicing medicine despite the ending of criminal proceedings against him.

The Medical Council has written to Cork doctor James Barry, reminding him that he is prevented from practicing by a High Court order obtained by the council in 1995.

The council wrote to Dr Barry, now in his 80s, after he suggested that he may consider returning to private practice.

In an interview with the Irish Medical Times, the doctor ruled out returning to full-time practice but said he would consider returning in some form.

Last month, the Government decided not to appeal a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that the delays by the Irish authorities in prosecuting Dr Barry had violated his human rights.

The decision ended criminal prosecutions against Dr Barry. The council’s Fitness to Practice Committee had postponed the holding of their inquiry until the completion of the criminal prosecution of Dr Barry.

Medical Council president Dr John Hillery said the committee now intended to hold their inquiry as soon as possible.

In 1995, gardaí entered Dr Barry’s home and surgery and seized a series of videotapes. A Fitness to Practice inquiry was launched in 1996 and Dr Barry unsuccessfully fought to hold the inquiry in public.

After his arrest in 1997 on 237 counts of indecent and sexual assault charges from 1966 to 1995, involving more than 30 women, the council suspended its inquiry while criminal and civil proceedings went ahead.

Last month, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it would not appeal the European court’s decision.

Dr Barry accepts that he videotaped women without their knowledge but he maintains that it was research for a PhD.

He said he was treating acne vulgaris in woman using a male hormone combined with ultraviolet light and, as part of this therapy, it was necessary to perform vaginal examinations.

He said it was crucial to the research that the women did not know they were being videotaped.

The Medical Council said it would make no further comment on the matter because of restrictions in the Medical Practitioner Act, which it hoped would be reformed in new legislation.