Fine Gael has called for an urgent review of TB services in Ireland after three known cases of the disease were confirmed in a Cork primary school.

Local TD Deirdre Clune, and the Party’s Deputy Leader & Health Spokesman James Reilly TD, said Health Minister Mary Harney should take immediate action.
 
Deputy Clune said: ‘TB is a very serious illness which wracked Ireland in the 1950s, and which has never gone away’.
 
Minister Harney should immediately set up a review of TB services, including the process for administering the BCG vaccination for infants. Given that TB can be prevented by vaccination, this incident shows that a full review of TB vaccination is now essential.
 
I particularly want to know why the BCG vaccination programme was discontinued in the Cork area, only to be reintroduced two years ago, even though it was still available throughout the rest of Ireland.
 
Deputy Reilly said: ‘If manpower is an issue in the BCG vaccination programme, then consideration should be given to making single dose vials available to general practitioners who could easily administer the vaccination. It’s clear that a review of the entire process is needed urgently’.
 
Deputy Clune added: ‘I would also like assurances that the HSE will provide full support to the parents of the 200-plus children in the affected primary school’.