Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will stick to questions. Has the task force met at ministerial level to discuss this issue and outline the contingency plans that would be in place in the event of a suspected case or a live case arriving on our shores? Have there been any suspected cases of Ebola to date in this country? If so, did the response follow through as if it was an actual case?

Concerns have been raised by health care professional representative groups, including the IMO and others, in regard to the preparedness of Ireland in the event of a case in this country. The Minister alluded to the risks to health care professionals. The level of contraction of the disease by health care professionals in west Africa is quite alarming. We saw the transmission of the disease in Texas and Spain. There are legitimate concerns among health care professionals. Is the Minister satisfied everything is being done to address the concerns raised by union representatives and individuals who have expressed concerns about our preparedness?

Two issues strike me as a lay person. If a person is suspected of having Ebola, he or she should present himself or herself at a GP surgery. I am a little confused as to why that is the place to go. Should there not be a more formalised place to which he or she could present himself or herself?

I refer to the national isolation unit in the Mater hospital. I know we have the best equipment and isolation units in place and we have negative pressurised chambers and so on, but at the same time, should we not learn from others that taking people who have Ebola to high density places is not the best practice? Is that not something that should be looked at, not only in the context of Ebola but other diseases which may arrive on these shores from time to time?

I do not want to be overtly political on this but the health care professionals have legitimate concerns. I do not know whether they are playing politics with this, to which the Minister alluded, but I know one thing for sure and that is that two health care professionals in Texas and a nurse in Spain contracted Ebola and the priest who brought it to Spain died. The very localised nature of this indicates that the health care professionals are the ones most likely to contract Ebola. They have legitimate concerns. Rather than having megaphone diplomacy or otherwise on this, we should have real engagement to ensure their concerns are alleviated and addressed. Some GPs have informed me that the pack being sent may not be sufficient in terms of information and the protocols to be put in place to transfer a suspected case onwards to the national isolation unit. The equipment itself, in terms of gowns, masks and gloves, could be expanded.