Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I compliment the officials in the Department of Health and Children on their handling of the potential crisis to date. The lessons learnt by the Department in how to deal with a pandemic were greatly enhanced following the outbreak of SARS in 2003. It is clear from the response of the Department that it has learnt a good deal from that potential SARS outbreak five years ago. All measures established, including public announcements, and the way with which the matter was dealt, that is, by neither over-playing nor underplaying the nature of the crisis, indicate a positive response from officials in the Department. Although the structures are in place in the event of a pandemic, it is lucky for us that this virus seems to be no more virulent than any other influenza virus present in any country at any time. We have been lucky in the sense that it has not been a full-blown crisis. It has been only a potential crisis and, therefore, we have not been fully tested in respect of the potential outcomes. I am sure the Department in its wisdom will stress test its systems to establish how it would respond.

In the past when discussing SARS the issue arose of how best to use hospital beds. Does the Department believe this is still an issue? If this were a full blown pandemic of a highly virulent strain of influenza we would have to keep certain people at home as much as possible to isolate them from the general population.

I note there has been a great reduction in the HSE in the level of home help services and public health nurses provided. The recruitment embargo is impacting on primary care services. The slow roll-out of primary care policies which has been a part of Government since 2001 would be severely tested if a highly virulent influenza virus struck the country. From that point of view not enough has been done to build up the level of primary care which has been promised for several years.

The HSE has indicated it has funding to build primary care centres, but not to take on staff for primary care centres, which has the potential to weaken primary care. There is also a manpower crisis in public health nursing and with general practitioners working in primary care services. The Government does not seem to be responding to these needs seriously. These matters do not reach the headlines unless something serious takes place. If the virus were to change and become a highly virulent pandemic we would be severely tested. There are still weaknesses in place. What does the Minister intend to do in this regard?