Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I totally disagree. We have shown in recent times, in particular with regard to how the foot and mouth disease was handled, that we are very good, as a country, at handling emerging issues of this kind and can work closely together. Our planning is very much in line with that of the World Health Organisation. We follow its instructions and the 2004 plan is in line with its instructions. The WHO is constantly updating its plans and we do the same. Therefore, it is not correct to say we have no plan. We have a plan, which is constantly revisited. The new plan will be available this summer.

The vaccine would be taken on a voluntary basis but it is clear that health care professionals would want to use the vaccine to protect themselves. It has been 40 years since the last pandemic. This morning our national expert, Professor Hall, who is one of the world experts in this area, told me it could be another 40 years until the next pandemic. However, we must be vigilant and cannot be complacent. Therefore, when we are creating stockpiles in Ireland of vaccines, Relenza and Tamiflu, we do so to have enough to cover 40% of the population, which is a higher proportion than in any other European country. Indeed, we have been commended for our proposals.

In the event of a pandemic, it is undoubted the health system would be under pressure, as it would be in any country. We would have to respond to that pressure and would do so at different levels, in the first instance using Tamiflu, Relenza and the vaccines. We are acquiring these products as quickly as we can. We joined with the UK to access the vaccine because as a small country we do not have much muscle in dealing with the producers of these products. We joined with the UK for a single procurement of the vaccines and I am pleased to acknowledge the support of the UK in allowing us to operate with it. This gave us greater clout in negotiating with the producer of the vaccine, which is not yet available. We also have a sleeping contract for any vaccine that might be manufactured after the strain of the disease is identified, which would not be for four to six months after a pandemic would arise.

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