asked the Minister for Health if he will give particulars of the number of meetings and the dates of such meetings held since the establishment of the National Health Council and if he will state whether the members were consulted in connection with the proposed mother and child welfare scheme.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - National Health Council.
The National Health Council has met once since its establishment on the 3rd March, 1948. This meeting was held on the 19th March, 1948, for the purpose of considering the draft infectious diseases regulations.
The proposals in connection with the mother and child health scheme which my predecessors had under consideration did not reach the stage at which draft regulations could be submitted to the National Health Council.
A Consultative Child Health Council in connection with the mother and child health service was, however, established by the Minister for Health in May, 1948, to advise on measures which might appear to it to be likely to prove most effective for the improvement of the health of children generally or any particular class or classes of children, and in particular for the reduction of infant mortality. This council submitted recommendations in connection with mother and child health service schemes for Dublin, Limerick and Waterford County Boroughs and for rural areas.