Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Mattie McGrath raised the issue of the World Health Organization, WHO. I am a strong supporter of the organisation and believe we should increase and enhance its capacity to deal with pandemics. The World Health Organization is the body that calls pandemics, rather than national governments. There is a very good reason for that. Some governments in the world would never call a pandemic even if one was blowing right through their countries. I know that from previous experience. To put it another way, some are more tardy than others when it comes to admitting what is going on.

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