A proposal to introduce compulsory medical screening for asylum-seekers entering the State, in an effort to halt the steady rise in the incidence of TB here, was strongly criticised at a meeting of the Eastern Health Board.
A member of the board, Dr James Reilly, put the motion before this month's meeting of the health authority, saying foreign nationals seeking domicile in the EHB region should be obliged to undergo health screening as part of their overall assessment process.
"This would identify at source those applicants who are at risk and in immediate need of treatment," he said.
The increased incidence of TB in the area was due to the large number of non-nationals coming into the State from areas where the highly contagious infection was endemic, he said. Asylum-seekers should be screened both for their own good and the good of the community as a whole.
Dr Reilly said that screening was not unusual in other countries, with chest X-rays required of Irish applicants for Australian and US visas.
Opposing the proposal, Cllr Eric Byrne said it suggested a "totalitarian approach". "The State couldn't possibly police such a proposal and if it even tried to, I'm sure it would be in breach of international conventions."
Dr Reilly agreed to reword his proposal and accepted that the results of medical check-ups should remain confidential and have no bearing on the outcome of applications for asylum.
However the board's chief executive officer, Mr Pat McLoughlin, expressed reservations about compulsory screening. He referred to "ethical issues" and said it would require "huge policing".
Mr McLoughlin said that a voluntary screening programme was already in place and it had been screening up to 60 per cent of those seeking asylum. However in recent weeks, with the Mount Street screening centre in Dublin under extreme pressure, the numbers being screened had been reduced by half.
He believed that once refugees dispersed around the State in line with Department of Justice plans the situation would improve. He said the Department had received a very good response to its recent request for additional accommodation outside Dublin for asylum-seekers.
Mr McLoughlin said he acknowledged that the influx of huge numbers of unscreened refugees had health implications. He felt that more resources should be put into the voluntary screening programme to reach greater numbers of asylum-seekers. The board agreed to seek additional funding for this purpose.