Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Back in the 1950s Dr. Noel Browne was given credit for eliminating tuberculosis as a major problem. There were 7,000 cases a year of people getting tuberculosis and those of us who were around at the time remember "Hospitals Requests" where requests were played for those in the sanatoria. I understood the disease had been practically eliminated until last week when I read an article by Dr. Charles Breeden of University Hospital Cork who states that we have not eliminated tuberculosis but that new strains exist that are resistant to modern drugs and that it is possible to do a great deal more to combat the disease than we are doing. I am aware that babies are routinely immunised when they take up the BCG vaccination but according to Dr. Breeden, we have a long way to go before we conquer this. The recent outbreak of 14 cases of tuberculosis in Cork is indicative of the dangers of a pandemic. We can take the necessary steps to address this problem. We should not get into a panic but we must regard it as an urgent problem. We must take action during the summer and not put it on the long finger.

I join with Senator Ryan in drawing attention to the issue of competitiveness in the business regulation forum report . We must reduce the red tape to enable small businesses to become more competitive. The danger is that we are hidebound by red tape and business regulations. I was actively involved in the business regulation form which points out five steps that can be taken. Let us ensure that this report is not ignored and that it gets the attention it deserves.