The Health Act, 1947, and the Infectious Diseases Regulations, 1981, provide the legislative basis for the control of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis. The control of infectious diseases is a matter for the health boards and, in this instance, the Eastern Regional Health Authority.
The report of the working party on tuberculosis, which was established to evaluate policy on the prevention and treatment of the disease in Ireland and to make appropriate recommendations, was published in 1996. The report made recommendations, on which my Department's TB strategy is based, for the prevention and treatment of the disease. The recommendations covered a range of issues including epidemiology, surveillance, screening, preventative therapy, clinical management and laboratory diagnosis. As recommended in the report, a permanent committee – the national tuberculosis committee – was established to advise on a detailed national strategy for the control and management of tuberculosis. The committee meets when necessary to review all issues concerning the control and management of tuberculosis.
Data provided by the National Disease Surveillance Centre in relation to the number of cases of tuberculosis in Ireland from 1992 to 2002, inclusive, are as follows: