The Chairwoman of the Lindsay Tribunal has rejected a proposal to investigate the international drug firms which made the blood products that infected most Irish haemophiliacs. The Irish Haemophilia Society has said that it is very disappointed with Judge Alison Lindsay's ruling.
The decision means that Dr Peter Jones, English expert witness, cannot introduce internal memos from Armour Pharmaceuticals as evidence. It was a product made by this company which most probably infected an Irish child with HIV. One Armour memo, read out last week by Richard Nesbitt, counsel for the Society, suggested that cost and market share were being balanced against the safety of their product.
No focus on drug companies' state of mind
Judge Alison Lindsay ruled her Tribunal's Terms of Reference did not require her to investigate the state of mind of these drug companies: only what they communicated to Irish officials.
Judge Lindsay said that the Oireachtas would have introduced a Term of Reference if it wanted drug firms to be inquired into. She said that she was evaluating relevant matters outside of the State by using expert witnesses and this was satisfactory.
Decision criticised
The Irish Haemophilia Society has said that it is very disappointed with Judge Lindsay's ruling, which it characterised as a "narrow interpretation of the Terms of Reference". However it does not appear that the row is over just yet. The Society is considering an appeal to the Oireachtas to widen the Terms of References so that the drugs companies can be investigated.
