The High Court yesterday rejected an application by the Irish Haemophilia Society (IHS) for leave to challenge the Lindsay Tribunal's refusal to order the Blood Transfusion Service Board to detail information contained in 611 documents over which the BTSB is claiming legal privilege.
Mr Justice Kelly said the burden for securing leave to take judicial review proceedings was light, but he was not satisfied any of the grounds advanced by the society met the necessary threshold.
After the judgment, a lawyer for the IHS said he would have to take instructions on whether to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The High Court was told previously that the BTSB was claiming "legal and professional privilege" over the documents.
The chairwoman of the tribunal, Judge Alison Lindsay, had refused to grant the IHS an order for "further and better discovery" in regard to the documents, saying the onus was on the IHS to prove that the BTSB had no right to claim privilege. Yesterday, Mr Justice Kelly said the IHS had not established an arguable case for judicial review on any of the grounds advanced by it. Neither the tribunal nor the BTSB applied for costs of the application against the IHS.
Joe Humphreys adds: IHS administrator Ms Rosemary Daly said it was unlikely the society would appeal.
She said the judgment was disappointing as the society felt it had run out of options in its application to gain information about the BTSB's confidential records.
She reiterated that the case would not have been necessary had the blood bank chosen to waive privilege.
Among the issues to which the records are believed to relate are the 1991 compensation scheme for haemophiliacs infected with HIV and the BTSB's decision in 1988 to indemnify the drug company Armour against any legal actions arising from infections.
"The reality is the BTSB could have waived privilege over the documents. It would have been a very humane gesture and would have ensured the people who have been waiting 20 years for this inquiry to see that no stone was left unturned," said Ms Daly.
"The fact that they have not been released means there will always be questions as to what was in them." The IHS will have to pay its costs for taking the judicial review.