Bird flu - Officials in a flap inspire no confidence

THE bewildered response of officialdom to the reported finding of a dead swan in Co Waterford does not inspire confidence in Ireland’s preparedness to cope with the threat of bird flu.

As the first meeting of the national emergency management committee takes place today, it defies credulity that the finder of the dead bird on the foreshore at Cheekpoint in Waterford Harbour, where other swans were swimming at the time, had to make no fewer than 10 phone calls before he finally succeeded in contacting an official who said the body would be collected.

Presumably, samples have been sent to Britain for laboratory tests?

This bizarre scenario gives the lie to Government claims that Ireland is geared to cope with an outbreak of avian flu. It also suggests that Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan is grasping at straws by stating we could escape altogether because of the migratory pattern of wild birds.

Her assurance that Ireland is in the low risk category smacks more of hope than realism. While the cause of the swan’s death has yet to be confirmed, the outlook is not good.

As Ms Coughlan was discussing the crisis with fellow agriculture ministers in Brussels yesterday, egg and poultry producers, as well as worried members of the public, were holding their breath.

The saga of the finding of the dead swan on RTÉ’s Liveline programme had to be heard to be believed.

Realising the danger, the finder first contacted the gardaí but they were unaware what procedure should be followed.

Astonishingly, the Health Service Executive told the finder not to worry because bird flu had not yet reached Ireland. He was informed that all relevant officials were at a meeting but would be available at 9 o’clock yesterday morning.

Adding that no information had been received from any Government department about bird flu, the HSE source suggested the local vet should be contacted. But it also transpired the vet had no information about contingency plans.

Finally, after being passed from Billy to Jack, an official at the Department of Agriculture said the dead swan would be collected. This appalling chronicle bodes ill if avian flu ever arrives here.

That threat remains real as Slovakia yesterday became the eight EU country to confirm an outbreak of bird flu. It remains to be seen if it is the deadly H5N1 strain.

If anything, this ominous scenario will heighten fears over the apparently unstoppable march of the disease. The risk of a pandemic cannot be discounted as scientists warn that if the virus mutates, spreading from human to human, it will claim millions of lives.

Given the perplexing lack of information about bird flu at official level here, Ms Coughlan must publish unambiguous and robust guidelines to ensure that the public is fully prepared for what increasingly looks like the inevitable arrival of avian flu in Ireland.