Is the Tánaiste aware of the growing anxiety throughout the country at the consequences of the current strike by public health doctors, the threat of a SARS epidemic, the implications for the Special Olympics and the safety of the public generally? Her colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, in his responses to questions from Deputies yesterday, failed to allay those fears. I must conclude from his responses that adequate cover is not in place to address these concerns. What effective steps does the Government intend to take to address the major deficit in public health cover, particularly in the so-called out of hours periods of evenings, weekends and bank holidays? What steps does the Government propose to take in the context of a global threat from SARS and in view of the significant numbers of visitors we hope to host during the Special Olympics in June?

The Minister for Health and Children dealt with this matter extensively in the Dáil last night. This strike is not justified. The salary increase involved is about 25%, which is substantial. We urge the IMO to return to talks. It is the public and patients who will suffer and this is not the way to resolve the difficulties with pay matters.

The Tánaiste has answered a question I did not pose. I did not ask about the detail of the dispute between the public health doctors and the Government. I asked about the implications for the deficit in public health cover that exists apart from the interface now created by the strike action. We are talking about evenings, weekends and other out of hours periods. This situation was highlighted long before this strike action. A cross-Border study was carried out which highlighted that there is a major discrepancy between cover existing in the North of Ireland and in the rest of the island. That is the concern people have. It is important that we ensure 24 hour cover 365 days of the year. It is important that the Tánaiste answer the important questions I have posed about the SARS threat and the concerns of host communities throughout the country regarding the implications for the Special Olympics.

Although I had not earlier asked the question, will the Tánaiste advise us what steps the Government intends taking to address the current dispute with the IMO?

Deputy Ó Caoláin asked me what the Government is doing to resolve the dispute. The Government wants to see the IMO back in the talks process through the LRC or the Labour Court. That is the only responsible way of resolving the issues. It is grossly irresponsible for the doctors in question to exclude, for example, the Disease Surveillance Centre and other emergency activities because of this dispute. That is grossly irresponsible and I call on the doctors again to reassess the decision they made last weekend on that matter so that the lives of vulnerable citizens and patients are not put at risk.

The Tánaiste has refused for the second time to answer the question.