Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. The controversies that have surrounded the transmission of hepatitis C will, in the future, be seen as one of the more significant events and the political system and the administration in this country will be seen to have failed so many of our citizens. The State and its various agencies, through incompetence, inefficiency and, sadly, indifference, affected the lives of so many people, many of whom died. Thousands have been affected in that their quality of life has been irredeemably changed. That reflects badly on Governments but also on our political system. Ever since information on the extent to which this condition was affecting so many people become available, its handling has been at best inept and, sadly, mostly insensitive. Political reputations have suffered as a result but that means nothing compared with the effect on many thousands of people affected with this condition, some of whom have died.

It is with great sadness that we consider the Bill presented by the Government. The Bill was meant to fill in the remaining gaps, which have been left for far too long. Despite that timelag, the Bill presented is deficient in so many ways. Government contributions to the debate to date have taken two characteristics. The contributions of the Tánaiste and two Ministers of State seemed to follow a set line. There was a renewal of the apology to the victims of hepatitis C in respect of the form in which the condition was transmitted. They also stated that the Government had done so much in regard to this issue over the past nine years. There was a degree of self-congratulation there. They further stated what they hoped to do with this Bill and explained what to many of us in the House believe is utterly inexplicable in terms of meeting the commitments to this disadvantaged group in our society.

Government backbenchers, while supporting the Tánaiste and Ministers of State, seemed to have no compunction about saying they also supported the campaigning groups in this area. Press statements were read out in regard to the statements made by the Irish Haemophilia Society, the Irish Kidney Association, Positive Action and Transfusion Positive. These Government backbenchers have asked that certain actions be taken.

Since all Stages of the Bill are being taken over these two days, we now have a list of the amendments the Government intends to make. The amendments are very slight and one has already been flagged by the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, in that the Government will not rely solely on the ELISA test but will also rely on the RIBA and the PCR tests. There has been no give on the Government's part in terms of maintaining consistency in respect of confirmation of HIV by medical practitioners as has been the case in the past and in the tribunal. The only other amendment tabled by the Tánaiste which is in any way compensatory takes an almost Fianna Fáil approach to issues such as this one — it treats everything that happened in the past as being in the past and it will apply the new sets of criteria to the future. That is what is upsetting many of the campaigning groups because this concerns not only those who have lived with this condition but others who will suffer in the future.

The issue of consortium was spoken about at length. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, seemed to have great difficulty believing it was a difficult issue. As Deputy Lynch said, the nature of the society in which we live will mean that people will establish relationships in the knowledge that one of those involved suffers from a condition which may be transmitted.

It is hard to understand why the Tánaiste has introduced this legislation. It is a great irony that once again in a Fianna Fáil-led Government, the issue of haemophilia seems to be creating a huge blind spot in terms of how people in our society who suffer from it should be treated. In 1989 the issue of granting £300,000 or £400,000 to meet the needs of haemophiliacs resulted in the then Taoiseach, the late Charles Haughey, going to the country. The Government would not want this Bill to fail as it would then have to justify it at a general election. When the Government presents the issue as being the rights and entitlements of people living with this condition, it is obvious it does not do so on the basis of meeting their needs but of avoiding, as other speakers have noted, the appalling vista of unending costs which is envisaged by the Government and the officials of the Department of Health and Children. This should never be our approach to an issue of this type.

My party's spokesperson on health, Deputy Gormley, has tabled three amendments, which are shared with other Opposition spokespersons. I hope Government backbenchers in particular will pay attention to these amendments, which propose that sections 1, 2 and 6 be deleted. These sections are particularly contentious and the campaigning organisations find it difficult to understand why they were included.

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