Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 April 2004
617 Mr. O’Dowd asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on the letter from a person (details supplied) to his Department on 25 March 2003 concerning baseline health data and the concerns expressed by the public regarding human health in the vicinity of waste facilities, including landfill sites and incinerators. [11980/04]
View answerThe issues raised in the correspondence referred to by the Deputy in relation to baseline health data arise from a report published by the health research board, HRB, in 2003. The report, Health and Environmental Effects of Landfilling and Incineration of Waste — A Literature Review, was commissioned by the HRB at the request of the then Department of the Environment and Local Government. With regard to human health impacts the report concluded that there were information gaps in respect of monitoring of the health of people living near waste sites. The national health strategy, Quality and Fairness: A Health System for You, published in 2001, recognises the need to address issues in this area. Under the strategy, the national health information strategy, NHIS, will be published and implemented. This strategy is currently being finalised. A principal motivation behind the development of the NHIS has been the recognition of significant gaps and deficiencies in health information. The NHIS will therefore make recommendations to address these issues through a range of initiatives and structural changes.
Despite recognised deficiencies, it should be emphasised that many existing information systems contribute significantly to the monitoring and evaluation of population health. Baseline human health data are routinely collected through the vital statistics registration system. Other national data sources also available at regional, county and sometimes DED level include data from the national cancer registry, the hospital in-patient inquiry system, SLAN, the national disease surveillance centre and the perinatal reporting system. The congenital birth anomalies registries in Ireland cover areas accounting for over 60% of the births occurring. The public health information system produced by the Department of Health and Children for the directors of public health brings together a range of data, including many of the sources above.
