Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses who attended this afternoon. We have had a very good meeting and achieved a lot. I thank Mr. Barry Andrews of GOAL for first contacting us about coming here and I thank Ms McKenna from Médecins Sans Frontières for its contact as well.
Various other NGOs work in the region, and we cannot forget them. I refer to Plan Ireland, Concern and all the other NGOs. We must pay tribute to all the NGOs and Irish NGOs, as well as our embassy staff.
I also thank the officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which is a major player, for their attendance, and I thank Dr. Bonner from the Department of Health, who made a contribution as well. All are major players in our co-ordinated approach.
The three actions encouraged by all the witnesses this afternoon are important. The first is a recognition of the need for a larger-scale military response. Both Mr. Andrews and Dr. Fitzpatrick have said that it is very important for countries to respond. The Americans have responded, so we will encourage more of the larger countries to send in a large military force to help co-ordinate the crisis.
Both organisations recognised the need for additional funding. Ms Ingoldsby said that the Minister was considering more additional funding to deal with the outbreak. That is important and we are delighted to hear it. Obviously, funding, resources and equipment are extremely important. As Dr. Fitzpatrick has said, some health workers have to work without gloves and the basic essentials necessary to deal with the ebola outbreak. In our future discussions with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Minister of State and the Secretary General of the Department, who are due to come before the committee shortly, we will raise these issues with them.
As Mr. Andrews from GOAL said, there is a need for trained health care personnel. This is a view that was outlined by Dr. Fitzpatrick as well. It is extremely important that such personnel be made available through organisations with a proven track record. GOAL has a proven track record in that area. There is also a need to put in place a central evacuation system at an EU level. Of course, getting in and out is important, as I said at the beginning of the meeting, now that many of the commercial airlines have ceased flying in the region. Dr. Fitzpatrick referred to this matter as well. Aid workers must be able to get in and out of the region in cases of emergency, etc. The UN is probably doing some of this type of work at the moment, but mobility needs to be increased.
The committee will take on board the suggestions made by the witnesses. The timing of this meeting was important given the current state of the ebola crisis in west Africa. We will take on board the suggestions made to the Department. I am delighted that the Department is represented here today. We thank GOAL and Médecins Sans Frontières for attending, and I am sure other agencies want to attend. The crisis is one that we will revisit in the coming months, given the statistics provided by Washington and the World Health Organization which showed what is happening and what could happen. The crisis could even get worse in 2015 and it is definitely an issue that we will revisit, monitor and keep in touch about.
I thank all of the delegations for their work in west Africa, particularly Dr. Fitzpatrick, who has spent some time there, and the other health care workers, who put their safety at risk. They are giving back to society and we appreciate their efforts on this committee. I thank everyone for their contributions this afternoon.