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Health Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 June 2021

Wednesday, 30 June 2021

Questions (248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253)

Alan Kelly

Question:

248. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if the National Integrated Medical Imaging System is one of the HSE systems that has been recently hacked in the ransomware attack. [28001/21]

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Alan Kelly

Question:

249. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the impact of the recent hack on the National Integrated Medical Imaging System radiology information system, services and patients; and the patient data that is held in this system. [28002/21]

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Alan Kelly

Question:

250. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if a build project (details supplied) commenced and finished; and if so, if the details of same will be furnished. [28003/21]

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Alan Kelly

Question:

251. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the details the 22 systems (details supplied) and the work that was required to be done; if this work was undertaken; and if any of these systems were compromised in the recent hack attack. [28004/21]

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Alan Kelly

Question:

252. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if the National Integrated Medical Imaging System radiology information system was hacked in the recent attack; the stage the NIMIS2.0 project upgrade is at; and if the NIMIS 2.0 project upgrade go live, build or commencement date was pushed out due to Covid-19 (details supplied). [28005/21]

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Alan Kelly

Question:

253. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if the java upgrade (details supplied) on the National Integrated Medical Imaging System client process was completed;if so, when; the way in which it was completed; and the cost to the Exchequer. [28006/21]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 248 to 253, inclusive, together.

The majority of health systems were affected in some way or other by the recent ransomware attack. If the core system itself was not affected, PCs and clients that were connected to these systems were often compromised in some way. The National Integrated Medical Imaging Health System was scheduled to get a significant upgrade in 2020 so that the PCs that support it could be migrated to the latest Windows operating system. It was simply not possible to implement that programme of work in the middle of the pandemic. Whilst that did result in a scenario whereby many PCs connected NIMIS were running older operating systems, the recent ransomware attack was much more sophisticated than a straightforward attack on an old version of a Microsoft operating system. The Health Service Executive (HSE) advised the Joint Committee on Health on June 23rd 2021 that they plan to push ahead with the NIMIS upgrade after the current cyber recovery phase is complete.

The HSE has reported that operational capacity will remain restricted until full connectivity is restored.

As these Parliamentary Questions relate to operational issues, it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.

Question No. 249 answered with Question No. 248.
Question No. 250 answered with Question No. 248.
Question No. 251 answered with Question No. 248.
Question No. 252 answered with Question No. 248.
Question No. 253 answered with Question No. 248.
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