Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. The European Commission has donated some €180 million to help fight the epidemic. The death toll has now exceeded the 3,000 mark and that is just six months after the outbreak first occurred. It would appear from the statistics that there is an increasing incidence of deaths due to Ebola. Over the past fortnight the number of deaths has been much greater than in any previous fortnightly period since the outbreak began. On this morning's RTE radio programme, "Today with Sean O'Rourke," it was suggested that by January 2015 the figures could have risen to exceptional levels, even to 1.2 million. These are alarming indicators of a situation that is not under control, although I am not suggesting that it is out of control. I ask the Minister to consider what further steps can be taken. The Minister said no case of Ebola had been identified in Ireland, thank God.

However, what direction are we giving the population in terms of the incidence among those tested? This is a highly contagious disease, yet people are being encouraged to seek medical attention. This is putting others at risk, not only general practitioners but also others in hospital sites. We must have a very clear indication as to what steps people should take because the disease can take hold very quickly, at which time there is a crisis.

Is the Minister in a position to tell me whether we have in this jurisdiction a stock of the drug ZMapp, which appears to have been effective in the treatment of two American aid workers who contracted Ebola? What further steps does the Minister believe the Government can take on travel? We heard this morning that a suspected case of Ebola was identified on a flight out of Africa. This is absolutely frightening for people. It is very important that representatives of the people, on both the Government and Opposition sides, ensure we have the very highest levels of protection in place for our population and face up to our international responsibilities by contributing the best we can offer to help curtail and, I hope, eradicate the disease, which presents such a terrible challenge.

See this speech in context