A Garda investigation is underway into the alleged misuse of public money by a lobby group for Hepatitis C patients.

The inquiry follows a HSE audit which found that Positive Action misspent significant amounts of its public funding between 2009 and 2013.

An audit of the now-defunct group says it spent State funds of €2.3 million on the likes of lobster meals, dog kennels, manicures and relaxation weekends.

€100,000 was spent on therapies including angel healing and card readings.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar confirmed the gardai were investigating and said there have been lengthy inquiries into spending at the agency.

“I can confirm that a garda investigation is underway into the misuse of funds by Positive Action, which is now being wound up as a company,” Minister Varadkar said.

“There is actually a long saga in this and there were court cases in the past when Positive Action refused to sign up to a service level agreement with the HSE.

“So it’s not something that was just discovered in the last couple of months, the HSE has been trying to action for the last number of years,” Minister Varadkar added.

Varadkar has stressed that other support services remain in place for Hepatitis C patients:

“But it’s important to say that this in no way affects women who were infected with Hepatitis C by this date. Their medical cards remain in pace, their other benefits too. And of course their other support groups out there and they continue to be funded,” Varadkar said.