Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Smith for raising this issue and I thank him for his kind words.

It is appropriate to have this discussion on Ebola today, given the rapid deterioration in the situation in West Africa over the past month and with cases appearing elsewhere in the world. This debate is particularly timely, given that the Ebola crisis was discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting yesterday and will be discussed at the European Council later this week.

The latest World Health Organisation figures are alarming - well over 9,000 people infected by Ebola, and over 4,500 deaths in West Africa. Despite all the efforts of the international community, the likelihood is that the situation will deteriorate further before it improves. I met Mr. Banbury when I was in Freetown in Sierra Leone. He indicated to us that the crisis would get worse before it gets better. Ireland has been very actively engaged at all levels in addressing the crisis on the ground and internationally.

As the Deputy is aware, I travelled to Sierra Leone at the start of the month and witnessed at first hand the devastating impact of Ebola there. I came away from my visit with three strong impressions. There was a key gap in leadership and co-ordination, which I am glad to say is now being filled by the UN emergency Ebola mission, UNMEER, headed by Mr. Nabarro and co-ordinated by Mr. Banbury. There remains important funding needs and this has been recognised in yesterday's motion at the Foreign Affairs Council. There is a need to scale up capacity for isolation and treatment. There is an urgent need for more international health care professionals to staff the isolation and treatment centres.

Ireland is one of a very small number of EU member states with an embassy in Freetown. I was struck during my visit by the very strong advocacy and co-ordination role being played by the Irish ambassador-designate, Ms Walsh, and her small and dedicated team. Ireland is working closely with international partners and others, including the US and the UK and the government of Sierra Leone, in the fight against Ebola. The question of co-ordination is a key issue if the Ebola virus is to be tackled effectively in the West Africa region and if its spread to other countries is to be prevented. This was discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg yesterday which was attended by the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan. The Council's decisions yesterday represented an important further step in EU efforts to tackle the crisis by reaffirming the need to work together in a co-ordinated way and to pool our strengths.

I wish to assure the Deputy that as a result of visiting Sierra Leone it is my view that Ireland must use its influence at the United Nations and through the European Council to support the need for a pan-European or strong EU response to this crisis. The bilateral response is a powerful one but it is not sufficient to tackle the nature of this crisis. There is a clear need for health workers and other key personnel to be represented on the ground. The Council meeting yesterday recognised the need to support international health responders. It agreed that the EU will provide appropriate care for them, including the possibility of medical evacuation if necessary.

We must now work urgently to ensure it is implemented in full.

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