Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and compliment Ms Ingoldsby, Mr. Andrews and Dr. Fitzpatrick on the clarity of their presentations, which paint a horrific picture. I take this opportunity to thank everybody working in this area in exceptionally difficult circumstances, including members of our own NGOs and Department officials.

The number of identified cases of ebola to date and the expected loss of life between now and January is frightening. It must be a wake up call to the international community. It is a pity the public has not heard the presentations made here today. I know people would be as moved by them as we have been. Mr. Andrews said that the World Health Organisation deemed the current situation as a public health emergency of international concern. Surely, in responding to a crisis of that magnitude speed is of the essence. I recently read some research on infectious diseases carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a quotation from which states: "The window for controlling this outbreak is closing".

International co-ordination is key to dealing in a meaningful way with this crisis.

The current piecemeal approach will not resolve it. I ask Ms Caitríona Ingoldsby or her colleagues if they have any indication whether a political will exists in the European Union to put together a European rapid reaction force to help the humanitarian situation in west Africa. Quite a number of European countries are assessing the resources available to them to help fight this disease. In many instances the work of putting together a meaningful response is only at a planning stage. I refer to a comment day or two ago by the Italian Presidency of the European Union that only four or five countries in Europe are equipped and that the Presidency will work to co-ordinate the aid effort. If there was ever a tardy response to a humanitarian crisis that comment from the Presidency of the EU surely indicates that the urgency we all want to see is missing from the efforts to support the people working in exceptionally difficult circumstances.

Mr. Barry Andrews said in his presentation that the British National Health Service has announced a co-ordinated plan for medical workers. If the details of that co-ordination are available, could it be used as a prototype or model for our response if the Department of Health and the HSE are willing to allow workers to spend a month or two in the area?

Is there a good co-ordinated effort in the region to ensure that the best return is being achieved from the work of so many NGOs and the assistance given by different governments? Dr. Gabriel Fitzpatrick gave a harrowing commentary on the month he spent working in the region putting his expertise and skills to use and on which I compliment him. He stated that children made up a significant proportion of admissions. Is it true that the age cohort comprising children up to middle-aged adults is the most affected by this disease?

Is the global pharmaceutical industry making a contribution towards fighting this disease? If all the financial and human resources were in place in those regions tomorrow, is the supply of medication and drugs an issue?