Mr. Michael Sheahan:

In short, no. There has been no case that I am aware of where somebody has not turned up for work.

That is not to say that there has not been significant concern. We have 250 staff who have been on the front line since the start. I have worked in the Department for nearly 30 years. We have dealt with many crises in our time such as foot and mouth, dioxins in pork products, BSE and so forth. However, this is the single biggest challenge we have ever faced in my opinion.