Vol. 496 No. 6
308 Ms Clune asked the Minister for Health and Children the arrangements, if any, he has put in place in his Department to offset any adverse effects of the millennium bug; the effects the millennium bug will have; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23530/98]
The so-called millennium bug has the potential to adversely affect a wide range of systems and electronically controlled equipment within my Department and in the wider health service. In view of this, I have put a range of measures in place to deal with the millennium bug issue. A high level year 2000 monitoring committee chaired by an Assistant Secretary has been put in place to oversee progress in the wider health service and to oversee progress on my Department's internal systems.
I have embarked on a number of initiatives in order to ensure that health agencies resolve their year 2000 problems in good time. Initially, year 2000 guidelines were circulated setting out a series of steps to be taken to achieve compliance. Another initiative was the setting up of special interest groups in a number of areas, such as IT, medical devices and estates. New initiatives include setting up a central test resource for medical devices and a year 2000 Internet site. My Department is also closely monitoring progress and cost estimates within agencies.
Staff in the internal systems unit of my Department have been carrying out remedial work for some time on the in-house systems and equipment and I am confident that no significant adverse effects will arise.
