Legal responses to public crisis: Tribunals of inquiry and the blood crisis in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

This paper will outline the national and international cases of contaminated blood which have emerged as a part of the 'risk society' of modernity since the 1980s. In particular, the paper will examine the Tribunals of Inquiry that were established in order to investigate the use contaminated blood in cases in the Republic of Ireland in that timespan. The paper will outline the key issues surrounding the 'blood crisis' that came to dominate the news agendas of the day, and will present an analysis of the legal issues which emerged from these legal responses.