Mary Henry (Independent)

The deaths of more than 200 people in the bombing in Madrid was appalling but the number probably would have been greater if the accident and emergency services had not worked so efficiently to deal with the 1,500 casualties in a short time. No country is safe from such a catastrophe. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Health and Children to come to the House to address Ireland's plan for major catastrophes not only in Dublin but around the country? The accident and emergency services are in chaos and the pre-hospital emergency services are grossly under-resourced. Will the Leader also ask the Minister to outline what Amercian-owned manufacturing facilities will do if people are injured because they must be likely targets in light of the upcoming visit of President Bush? This is a serious issue. The last rehearsal of a plan to deal with emergencies such as this went badly and I hope the Leader will ask the Minister to address this issue in the House as soon as possible.