The Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, has said he believes that patients who were given alternative cancer therapy by two doctors in the mid-west area were treated in a callous way.
The minister has met relatives of a number of patients who received alternative light therapy at a clinic in Killaloe, Co Clare, to hear their concerns about the treatment.
Some patients who received the €20,000 therapy have since died and others claim it made their condition worse.
One of the doctors, American William Porter had already been struck off the medical register in California for gross negligence.
The other, Dr Paschal Carmody, has been struck off by the Irish Medical Council for professional misconduct.
The families want the minister to update the Medical Practitioners Act to ensure that doctors who are not registered cannot practise in Ireland. They are also concerned that although Dr Carmody has been struck off he can still practise alternative medicine.
In a statement after last night's meeting, Mr Martin said he would reflect on what the families said to him and would meet them again soon.
