Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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295. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which his Department has been in a position to identify precisely the full extent of resources needed to meet eventualities such as flu epidemics or a major disaster, with particular reference to the capability of general hospitals to meet the challenge without causing difficulties at accident and emergency departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4921/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Government Task Force on Emergency Planning is the top-level body which coordinates and oversees the emergency management activities of all Government Departments and Public Authorities. Ireland has adopted the “Lead Department” principle which means that the Government Department having responsibility for a particular area of public life (transport, energy, health etc.) takes the lead when an emergency occurs in that area. When an emergency occurs it is the responsibility of the relevant Lead Government Department (LGD) to chair the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) which deals with the relevant emergency. The Department of Health is currently LGD for two emergencies - Pandemic Influenza and Other Infectious Diseases, and Other Biological Incidents.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is the forum for managing the interface between the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive and will manage the planning and response phases of public health response to any influenza pandemic. The management of a pandemic influenza epidemic will be carried out in the context of the existing international framework, including the WHO's International Health Regulations (IHR's) which sets out an international system of preparedness and response for dealing with public health emergencies of international concern. EU Decision No 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border threats to health also provides a coherent framework for tackling all serious cross-border public health threats at an EU level. The EU Health Security Committee, which includes representatives from all EU Member States, is responsible for coordinating the response at EU level. All responses will take into account the advice of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which provides rapid risk assessments of infectious disease outbreaks, advises actions to be taken to prevent or control their spread and provides support for dealing with outbreaks.

As part of this process the HSE and hospitals should have their own National Emergency Plans in place to order to ensure a structured and timely response to a major emergency.