Minister challenged to face Committee

Fine Gael's deputy health and children spokesman, Dan Neville, has challenged Health Minister Micheál Martin to attend tomorrow's Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children.

"I want Minister Martin to account for his failure to put adequate procedures in place to deal with the SARS crisis," said Deputy Neville.

"The failure of the system to deal with the case presented last Friday demonstrates the lack of any planned approach to deal with a potential outbreak and could have exposed the country to an outbreak of epidemic proportions.

"There is no plan, there are no isolation facilities, no screening of travellers from affected areas and no precautions to deal with an outbreak.

"The present approach does not inspire confidence in the measures adopted by the Minister.

"The Minister must answer the concerns of the public through their representatives by attending the Oireachtas committee tomorrow."