POISON BLOOD COMPO BILL PASSES € 1BILLION € 8m
One victim paid nearly € 1million Tribunal report reveals details
STATE compo payments to victims of contaminated blood passed € 1billion in 2019.
That is according to the annual report of the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunal, which confirmed one person received nearly € 1million.
The new study shows compensation payments to victims of the contaminated blood products total led €1.003 billion at the end of 2019.
The total is made up off €751.6 million in awards made by the tribunal, € 87.4million in awards made de
that by the High Court on appeal and a further € 164.8million in reparation fund payments.
In 2019, the tribunal paid out € 8million in awards – including one total ling € 970,000.
Along with the € 1.003billion paid out to victims, the tribunal has paid out an additional
What the tribunal paid out in awards two years ago
€ 183million f or rel at ed l egal costs bringing the total bill to the State to € 1.186billion.
The report shows that two legal firms representing those making claims shared the vast bulk of € 5.4million paid out in legal costs by the tribunal in 2019.
The tribunal was established to compensate people infected with Hepatitis C as a result of being administered with contaminated AntiDhu man immunoglobulin manufactured by the Blood Transfusion Service Board between 1970 and 1994.
The controversy led to the establishment of the Finlay Tribunal , which proved highly critical of the BTSB.
The scandal also caused major political difficulty for Fine Gael’s Michael Noonan, who was Health Minister at the time.
The tribunal’ s rem it was expanded in 2002 to award compensation to individuals who contracted HIV from
certain blood products.