Hep C group closes owing €107k

A support group for women given contaminated blood products by the State has been wound up with debts in excess of €107,000.

The biggest creditor is the HSE, owed almost €62,500 by Positive Action Ltd.

The debt is on foot of a judicial review taken by Positive Action in 2012 in an attempt to stop the HSE’s efforts to change its funding from a bespoke model to a standard agreement.

Positive Action received substantial annual funding from the HSE, on average €600,000, between 2006 and 2011.

While the judge ruled in the HSE’s favour, Positive Action was not left picking up the entire legal bill. Instead, the judge reduced its liability to 15% of what the HSE had paid in fees. This is the €62,500 now owed to the executive.

Other creditors that are owed substantial monies include accountants Cronin and Co, listed in Positive Action’s estimated state of affairs as being owed €19,680. Employees are listed as being owed €16,227.

Liquidators Barry Forrest and Co were appointed to oversee the liquidation process at a creditors’ meeting in Bewley’s Hotel, Leopardstown, on May 6.

Positive Action had been the subject of severe criticism by the HSE prior to its winding up after an examination of its accounts revealed what the HSE described as “inappropriate and extravagant” use of public funds.

In March, the HSE pulled its funding to the group on foot 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 HSE said.

The Irish Examiner has seen documents which show significant amounts of money were spent by Positive Action on hotel accommodation and dining out.

Members of Positive Action Ltd voted to approve the winding-up of the group at an extraordinary general meeting in March. It was replaced with a new entity called the Hepatitis C Anti-D Support Group, the name originally used when the group started in 1994.

Positive Action was founded to support women who contracted hepatitis C after receiving contaminated anti-D human immunogloblin from the Blood Transfusion Service Board. More than 1,000 women were infected.