In the event of a mass swine flu epidemic, TCD is preparing to allow staff to work from home, limit access to the college and its halls of residence, and to set up isolation bays if required.

It is also preparing to coordinate a mass vaccination programme, although this will depend upon when a vaccine becomes available.

"Obviously, if a very large number of cases occurs in a short period of time, then the Public Health Department [the HSE] may well advise the temporary closure, or restriction of access to schools and colleges across the city or country," McGrath said. "We would hope that the vaccination programme will have a significant impact on the number of cases and therefore that fatalities will be few."

He added that the college's student-counselling service has a plan in place to provide "the necessary supports to staff and students in the event of deaths from the virus".

The state's largest university, UCD, has also compiled its own detailed flu-contingency plan, wh