Brendan Ryan (Labour)

When we were changing babies' nappies and preparing their bottles, we knew about enhanced hand hygiene. The Health Research Board's press release states it "will then use state-of-the-art molecular technology". What has this to do with washing one's hands. Somebody fed a good bit of jargon to the Minister who is, incidentally, a very intelligent woman. I am not sure what any of this means and I am more than a little confused by it, to put it mildly.

I have the good fortune to work in an area that trains people to work in the pharmaceutical industry. Most, but not all, of the pharmaceutical companies in Cork produce a range of drugs. Between the production of one drug and the next, a process of cleaning is required so there is no possibility of a drug being contaminated. The companies do this efficiently and successfully. Contrary to what the Minister says, it appears one can be 100% successful in this regard. In the 25 years in which there has been a pharmaceutical industry in Cork, I have never heard of a product becoming contaminated by another that was produced previously.

Let us not set our standards by saying something will always go wrong. The pharmaceutical industry, with all its faults, can do what I have described. It does so by employing a steady methodology and because it is utterly terrified of the US Food and Drug Administration. It is afraid because it knows it must meet high standards. Management is responsible for the achievement of high standards. It teaches others and is responsible and accountable. When this principle is injected into the health service, not just in respect of MRSA but more broadly, we will make progress.

The problems that exist are not the fault of doctors or nurses. They arise because there is a layer of management that has never accepted that the job of management is to take responsibility, which is what it is paid for.