Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No matter how many times Deputy O'Reilly says that I was surprised by last winter's flu outbreak, I was not. I get this at least once a week from the Deputy. I had been relaying the advice made available to me by doctors and medical experts that the flu in question was a strain we had not seen in the State since 2009. I would hope that the entire report would be ready. Considering that a sufficient amount of material must be ready for the mid-term capital review, I am of the opinion that there will be valuable data and information available in preparation for the winter initiative.

In response to Deputy Kelleher, the position regarding ICU and theatre beds will be examined. I will revert to the Deputy on the issue of paediatric beds because I understand that a paediatric model of care is being developed as part of the new national children's hospital. We are looking at paediatric beds.

I agree with the Deputy about the importance of oversight structures. While overall responsibility will rest with my Department, which has responsibility for making policy for which I am accountable, it is important that the steering group has academic and clinical support and that we also have a degree of independent international oversight. We will identify the members of that international expert advisory group in the near future, and I will share information relating to them with the House. This group of international health experts will be charged with examining and critiquing the draft outputs from the review on the basis of their extensive international experience. The group will look at and validate the review's approach, methodology, conclusions and recommendations.

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