Mr. Joe Hanly:

Buildings per se are not in this. This year, the Mater Hospital Group will commission a national isolation unit that will be able to deal with patients with highly infectious diseases. Preparedness is in the main about the acute hospital system, ICUs, ventilation and the managing of those assets.

The HSE is about to sign off on an upgrade to its pandemic plan. It is due to be done within the next two months or so. It is there in draft for board or executive approval. Big capital investment is not mentioned specifically here but there is a reference to development of and assistance with laboratory and diagnostics. That is under the general background preparedness. It does not go into specific building requirements or anything like that.