Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will call on Dr. Henry to respond in a moment because he has a good knowledge of the HSE's response to this. I had a good meeting with OACS Ireland. I have told OACS in person and in writing that there are three priorities. The first has been to ensure that Ireland acts speedily on the EMA advice and warnings, which we have been doing and I think considerable progress has been made in that regard. The second has been the overall response team and the work that has been done by the HSE in that regard, including the response project and the conference to which the Senator referred. The third has been to focus on putting in place supports for the people who have been impacted.

We need to ask if there is a need for an inquiry to look backwards at what happened. I have kept an open mind on that and neither the Department nor the HSE has reached a decision on the matter. Our focus, from a sequencing point of view, has rightly been on putting supports in place for the people impacted and also making sure the EMA advice is acted on. I keep an open mind on that and have not made a decision.