Vol. 545 No. 5
64 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Health and Children the precautionary measures which exist to deal with a bioterrorist attack on the State; if he has examined reinforcing such precautions since 11 September 2001; if he has had discussions at European level on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30164/01]
The basic structures to deal with biological attack are already in place at both regional and national level. These structures include the National Disease Surveillance Centre and the Virus Reference Laboratory at national level and the departments of public health at regional level.
In the wake of the events of 11 September, I established a committee under the chairmanship of Professor Bill Hall, director of the Virus Reference Laboratory, to prepare an operational plan which would be implemented in the event of a biological attack on this country. The committee agreed that in preparing a plan it will be necessary to identify the level of risk of such an attack and that the plan should reflect the risk identified. The committee considered that although the risk of a primary attack in this country was low, the secondary consequences of an attack in another country was the more likely threat
On 17 October I launched a protocol for dealing with a suspected anthrax attack in Ireland. The protocol was prepared by the expert committee and deals with the procedures to be adopted in the event of a suspected anthrax attack including patient treatment and management, post exposure guidelines, etc. Included with the protocol are guidelines for individuals and companies on how to deal with a suspect package believed to contain anthrax. The protocol is revised on an ongoing basis as a result of feedback to the committee. The protocol and guidelines are available on the Department's web site – www.doh.ie.
