Harney rules out suing US blood firms for now

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.

Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney, who met members of the Irish Haemophilia Society (IHS) yesterday, said the Government would be foolish to pursue legal action against a drug firm if it did not have reasonable grounds for believing it could succeed.

“We would be exposing the taxpayer to huge litigation costs if we were to fail,” she said.