Haemophiliacs who accepted compensation many years ago after they were infected with hepatitis C through contaminated blood products administered by the State will not be allowed appeal those awards, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said yesterday.
The Minister was speaking after a meeting with the Irish Haemophilia Society during which the society sought a change in legislation which would enable members, whose health has worsened since they got their awards, to obtain further compensation.
Mr Martin emphasised that all those awarded compensation by the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal were offered the right to appeal their award to the High Court "within certain time limits".
He said he had been advised it would not be "legally possible" to now grant certain claimants a second opportunity to appeal their awards.
"To discriminate between one category and another would be unconstitutional, violating the relevant equal treatment measures of the Constitution," the Minister said.
The IHS's chairman, Mr Michael Davenport, said the decision was unjust and disappointing but hardly surprising given that members had in the past to "kick and scream" before they got anything from the Department of Health or the Government.
The campaign to change current appeals procedures would continue, he said.
The Department of Health, in a statement, stressed that all of the costs of treating the hepatitis C infections, including liver transplants, were always and would always be fully met by the State.