Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

The Tánaiste and the Government should be congratulated for introducing this badly needed legislation. The Tánaiste has said that everyone who receives a compensation award at the tribunal under the existing legislation will receive a special health card and will automatically qualify for insurance cover. Two other components of support, the compensation scheme and the special health card, are already in place. The compensation scheme was put on a statutory basis in the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act 1997, which was followedby the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal (Amendment) Act 2002. The two Acts provided that a wide variety of people could be compensated.

The special health card is awarded at the direction of the chief executive of the Health Service Executive, which must establish proof that the infection resulted from the use of contaminated blood products administered by the State. The key to this diagnosis is the ELISA test for hepatitis C, which is used in the United Kingdom and Canada. The Tánaiste has now included in the Bill references to the RIBA and PCR diagnostic tests.

Any of those tests can be used to prove an individual was contaminated. I have spoken to the representative groups about their concerns that some hepatitis C sufferers will be excluded from the compensation scheme. Senator Ryan is correct that there are no absolutes. It is difficult for an individual to determine whether he or she is infected. It also poses problems for the State but guidelines must be introduced. The Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children has stated future developments in tests and research will be accepted to endorse the diagnostic approach. This will include anyone given contaminated blood products but who shows up negative in the tests.