Sars threat: Ahern pressed to recall Dáil
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was tonight urged to recall the Dáil from its Easter recess to debate the response of his Government to the threat posed by the Sars outbreak.
The call was made by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny as medical tests continued on Ireland’s second suspected case of the sickness this week.
The latest alert centred on a woman in Waterford, who recently returned to Ireland from Toronto – where 16 people have already died from Sars – after a holiday in Canada.
Tonight it emerged that the woman contacted her doctor on returning to Ireland - displaying symptoms of the illness that has claimed hundreds of lives worldwide.
According to the South Eastern Health Board, it was “days rather than hours” after her return before she was admitted to hospital earlier today.
The woman was tonight receiving treatment and undergoing tests in Waterford Regional Hospital where her condition was reported to be improving.
Earlier this week, a Chinese woman who recently arrived in Ireland was caught up in a similar scare, but tests have revealed no indication of Sars.
The Sars position in Ireland has been complicated by a coincidental strike over pay and conditions by doctors who would be involved in combating infectious diseases.
As in the case earlier this week, a number of doctors today left picket lines to examine the new suspect case.
Yesterday, Health Minister Micheál Martin, admitted contingency plans had not worked in the case of the first woman, who comes from the region of China where Sars is believed to have originated.
She first went to a hospital last week only to be handed a surgical mask and paracetamol and told to return to the hostel where she had been living.
Tonight Mr Kenny said the recent public utterances of Mr Martin did not inspire any confidence that the Government had a clear plan to deal with the potentially “catastrophic consequences of a spread of Sars into this country”.
He added: “The handling of the suspected case in Dublin last weekend was very worrying as the relevant World Health Organisation guidelines were not adhered to.
“As the Dail is not scheduled to sit until May 7, I am calling on the Taoiseach to use his power to recall the House next Tuesday to give the Minister for Health an opportunity to explain how he is dealing with the threat of Sars.”
The Labour Party spokeswoman on Health, Liz McManus, called for “a major public information campaign to alert people to dangers of Sars and to counter misleading rumours that have already begun to circulate.”
She said: “Sars is a now a major worldwide health problem, which shows no sign of slowing down, and it would be naïve to believe that Ireland could escape its impact.
“However, significantsignificant precautions can be taken to limit the dangers of an extensive outbreak here.”
