Vol. 437 No. 6
517 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Health his views on the proposal contained in the White Paper of the Commission of the European Communities to the effect that a European medical information system, should be operated on a European rather than a national basis; and if Ireland will be supporting this proposals.
I am generally in favour of any initiatives to bring appropriate medical information systems across the European Union closer together. Currently my Department and health agencies are actively involved in a number of European projects which, for example, are establishing a European wide surveillance systems for a number of priority issues such as food safety and communicable diseases. My Department is also actively participating in a number of infrastructural initiatives essential to the development of European-wide medical information systems.
