HSE halts funding of hepatitis C group Positive Action

The HSE has pulled the plug on funding for a support group for women given contaminated blood products by the State, on foot of serious concerns about “inappropriate and extravagant” use of public funds.

The HSE wrote to Positive Action this week saying it was no longer prepared to fund the group because of “ongoing concerns” relating to “significant deficits” in the governance of the group: “These deficits give rise to concerns which are of such a serious nature that the HSE no longer has the confidence in the governance of Positive Action and its ability to manage public funding in a responsible and appropriate manner.”

The Irish Examiner has seen correspondence from 2013 where the HSE raises concerns about the use of €15,000 in public funds to pay for up to four committee members of Positive Action to attend an international conference in Boston in 2012.