A Dail committee will today discuss the risk to Ireland from bird flu.
Disease Surveillance Unit officials and the Government's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jim Kiely, are to appear at the Oireachtas Health Committee to detail Ireland's response to the threat.
The H5N1 strain of the avian influenza has killed over 90 people since early 2003, mostly in south-east Asia.
It has so far been found in dead swans in Germany, Austria, Italy and Greece, and tests are continuing in other EU countries.
EU veterinary experts have called for increased surveillance of wild birds and stricter bans on imports of untreated feathers from outside the 25-country bloc.
Health Committee member Charlie O'Connor said today: "The hearings will offer an opportunity to outline the steps that are being taken to prepare the country for a possible outbreak of avian flu, and the implications of the deadly strain of the virus spreading to other EU states.
"I will be seeking assurances that as a country we are prepared for an outbreak, and that measures are in place to treat the most vulnerable people.
"The progress of the flu from Asia, to Africa and now the EU has been alarming, however it is important that we do not become distracted by sensational reports on the virus and put in place a realistic response," he said.
Birdwatch Ireland yesterday moved to allay public fears of wild birds contaminating Ireland with avian flu.
Spokesman Niall Hatch said that while it is "a real but small risk" that migrating birds could transport the disease in to the country, the vast majority of birds visiting Ireland in winter "travel west to east, from places such as Greenland and Canada", which are areas unaffected by the disease.
In conjunction with the Departments of Agriculture and Environment, Birdwatch Ireland is "carefully monitoring" bird habitats such as the Booterstown marsh.