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Press release

Minister for Health publishes report of the Emerging Health Threats Function Expert Steering Group

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has today published the report of the Emerging Health Threats Function Expert Steering Group (ESG). It contains a number of recommendations to strengthen Ireland’s preparedness for public health crises, ranging from pandemics to the effects of the climate emergency.

The recommendations include:

  • the establishment of a new Health Security Emergency Response Service to enable rapid delivery of mass testing, contact tracing and vaccination
  • the utilisation of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) structure to facilitate a coordinated whole-of-government response to health emergencies
  • the establishment of an Irish Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (ISAGE) to support government decision-making
  • the establishment of an Interdepartmental Working Group to enhance cross-government collaboration in preparing for future health emergencies

The work of the ESG arose from the report of the Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group (PHREAG) which assessed Ireland’s public health response to COVID-19.

The PHREAG report found that Ireland responded very well to the pandemic, with excess mortality among the lowest in Europe. Surges in hospitalisation were of a lower and shorter duration than many other European countries while vaccination rates were among the highest.

Having examined the PHREAG findings, the ESG has now delivered recommendations that are designed to address existing gaps in Ireland’s public health protection system in order to improve our preparedness for health emergencies.

Minister Donnelly said:

"Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an ambitious programme of public health reform underpinned by record levels of government investment. The report of the ESG is a critical tool to help us further build on this progress, by developing additional enhancements to our health protection mechanisms.

"We are harnessing the lessons learned from the pandemic in order to ensure that we are equipped to respond effectively to future public health emergencies.

"I would like to thank the membership of the Expert Steering Group including the Chair Professor Mary Horgan, for giving so generously of their time, knowledge, and expertise."

Notes

The full list of recommendations is as follows:

  • establishing a new Health Security Emergency Response Service (HSERS) to ensure HSE Public Health has the capacity and capability to rapidly deliver mass testing, contact tracing and vaccination in response to public health incidents and emergencies
  • utilising the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) structure to facilitate a coordinated whole-of-government response to future national health emergencies including pandemics
  • establishing an expert advisory group to provide scientific and technical advice to support government decision making during health emergencies
  • enhance surveillance capabilities to enable all-hazards surveillance and a strengthening of the 'One Health' approach to emerging health threats
  • establish an Evidence Synthesis Hub and rapid activation mechanism for emerging health threats
  • enable and support Ireland's participation in multinational studies and adaptive trials to facilitate the development and deployment of medical countermeasures
  • a recommendation that a further enhancement of the existing health protection function represents the optimal model for Ireland, ensuring that the institutional knowledge and experience within the current health protection structures can be retained and built upon

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