Mr. Paul Reid:

On 14 May a human-operated "Conti" ransomware attack was detected on our network. It severely disabled a number of systems and necessitated the complete shutdown of the HSE's network. We have been working to recover systems ever since. The HSE response contains four stages. First, the containment phase, which is now completed. Second, the inform phase, which is also complete, but the task is ongoing. Daily and weekly briefings are being provided to multiple stakeholders. Third, the assess phase, which involves the restoration of services and eradication of ransomware from the network. That phase is continuing. Finally, the remedy phase, which involves strengthening our network against future cyber threats. That phase is continuing.

The restoration process and the accompanying due diligence exercise is necessarily taking some time. Although we can effectively decrypt data, that is only one element of it. The malware must also be eradicated. Decryption takes much longer than the original encryption, and eradication involves additional tasks to ensure that the perpetrators have no access route back into our systems. We have worked with specialist cybersecurity firms and our application vendors to develop solutions to improve the efficiency of the decryption and eradication process, and it is showing dividends. So far, 75% of our server estate has been decrypted and 70% of our end-user devices are now available.

While the architecture of our network dictates a certain initial sequence to the restoration of services, the majority of our sequencing decisions are clinically informed. We are focusing our efforts on restoring the systems most critical to patient care in the first instance. From a technical standpoint, many systems are now operational again, but restoring interoperability between systems and sites is ongoing. That continues to impact on service delivery. Characteristically, our staff across the country have worked extremely hard to keep services going in the face of the enormous challenges presented by the cyberattack and ensuing shutdown. They are doing this at a time when our health system is experiencing very high demand for services. I want to particularly thank staff for their hard work and commitment to the delivery of services to the public at this time. Our IT staff, supported by the Defence Forces and contracted IT experts, have maintained a relentless schedule. This continues seven days a week.

There is no underestimating the damage that this cyberattack has caused. There are financial costs, certainly, but there will, unfortunately, also be human costs. I assure members and the public that we are doing everything possible to restore the systems. I must also caution that it will likely take months before systems are fully restored. Accordingly, I must ask the public for continued forbearance and understanding.

I am pleased to say that the Covid-19 vaccination programme is making really good progress. We administered 340,000 vaccinations last week and GPs have administered close to 1.5 million vaccines. Our other vaccination channels, namely, community-based vaccination teams, acute hospitals, ambulance and community pharmacies, are also functioning very effectively indeed.

We have 39 vaccination centres in place. Over 3.7 million vaccines have been administered. Over 2.3 million people have now received a first dose, or single dose, of the vaccine and over 1.3 million have received a second dose, or single dose.

Our key objective in prioritising vaccine cohorts is to protect the most vulnerable. It is apparent, given the major drop in hospitalisations and mortality, that we are achieving this.

It is probably accepted by everyone that the health and well-being of mothers and babies has been at the heart of maternity visit restrictions, which I accept are a significant burden. Hospitals must apply infection prevention and control measures in a manner appropriate to the physical infrastructure that they have. We have provided guidance on partner access as I will outline. Maternity services should facilitate a minimum of a 30 minute visit daily. The partner should be facilitated during labour while the woman is in the labour ward. It may not be possible to facilitate women in multi-occupancy antenatal wards before they go to the labour ward. Partners should be facilitated at the anomaly scan and any other visit that may involve communications of emotional significance. Parents should be facilitated in the national neonatal intensive care unit, NICU. Given the improved Covid-19 situation, we recently asked all maternity hospitals and units to review their approach again. This week, the national women and infants health programme is meeting with the clinical leads of the six maternity networks. Subject to infrastructure limitations, I am confident that the least restrictive approach possible will be adopted.