‘Monumental mess’ organ probe may damage Government, says group

THE State probe into the organ retention controversy has turned into a “monumental mess” that could politically damage the Government, a campaign group warned yesterday.

The €20 million Dunne Inquiry, established in 2000 to review post-mortem practices in hospitals since 1970, will close down at the end of the month without completing its work.

Parents for Justice, which withdrew from the inquiry in 2002 citing lack of confidence in its work, said the investigation should have been placed on a statutory footing from the start and open to public scrutiny.

The Department of Health is considering appointing an independent expert to complete the inquiry’s remit.

Parents for Justice spokesperson Fionnuala O’Reilly warned that an expert could end up in a legal quagmire when seeking access to between 100,000 and 180,000 documents already gathered by inquiry chairman Anne Dunne SC.

The campaign group believed there could be legal objections to handing over confidential documents to a third party.

“The investigation could trundle along towards the next general election, a situation that could have political consequences for the Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney and the Government,” she said.

It is understood the inquiry’s long-awaited first report on the practice of retaining organs in children’s hospitals is completed and will be presented to Minister Harney after Easter.

The report, which has already missed five deadlines, was to have been followed by another on post-mortem practices in maternity and other hospitals and the links with pharmaceutical companies.

One feature of the inquiry is the extreme secrecy in which it operates.

It does not comment on its work and Ms Dunne has refused interview requests from the media.

Parents for Justice, which represents 920 families affected by the organ controversy, will meet Ms Harney later today to express their deep frustration and disappointment at way the issue has been handled.

“This controversy has touched the lives of tens of thousands of people who are very upset at the insensitive way it has been handled by the Government,” she said.

Ms O’Reilly said Ms Harney’s predecessor, Micheál Martin, had given a written assurance there would be a statutory inquiry in the event of Ms Dunne encountering difficulties.

In a recent interview with Irish Medical News, however, Ms Harney said she had not received any indication that hospitals did not cooperate with the inquiry.

But Ms O’Reilly insisted Ms Harney must take political responsibility for a very costly and lengthy inquiry and ensure people affected by the scandal got the answers they deserved.

“We will also tell her that any inquiry that is conducted in private only leads to disillusionment and suspicion. If an independent expert is appointed we hope that his or her work will be more transparent and open to public scrutiny than what has gone before,” she said.