Alan Kelly
Question:1054. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the process he has in place for appointments to NPHET or its subgroups; and if he has changed that process since he became Minister. [14890/20]
View answerTuesday, 14 July 2020
Questions (1054, 1059)
Alan Kelly
Question:1059. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if he will publish each of the recommendations and submissions that have guided the actions and decisions by the NPHET during the Covid-19 pandemic. [14901/20]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1054 and 1059 together.
As the Deputy is aware, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) structure is a long-standing mechanism utilised over many years to steer health service responses to public health emergencies as required by Ireland’s obligations under the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations.
These Regulations require State parties to establish multidisciplinary/multisectoral teams to respond to events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern. This necessitates flexibility in the composition of these national teams in order that they can appropriately respond to major public health emergencies.
As the Deputy is no doubt aware, the NPHET for COVID-19 is accountable to me as Minister for Health and is made up of senior public officials of the Department of Health and a number of relevant State Agencies, in addition to highly qualified subject matter experts from disciplines such as virology, infectious diseases, intensive care etc. who are among the leading practitioners in their fields in this country.
The NPHET can add to its membership on the basis of the additional expertise or support it identifies as being required so as to ensure that it is in the best possible position to provide advice and recommendations for consideration by the Minister for Health and the Government. These are the criteria on which the NPHET identifies the requirement for particular expertise. This flexibility in approach to selection is necessary for a group such as this in the context of an international public health crisis of the kind we are currently experiencing due to the pandemic, and gives effect to Ireland’s obligations to the WHO.
Consideration is currently being given to the national response to the emergence of Covid-19 that has been mounted to date with a view to ensuring that as a country we are as well prepared as possible for the coming period and any potential resurgence in the virus, and that will of course include ensuring that the NPHET continues to be in a position to offer evidence based advice and recommendations to me and the Government as the situation evolves.
With regard to the Deputy's question in relation to the publication of recommendations and submissions, a wide range of documentation related to NPHET has been published to date and it is intended to continue this process to ensure transparency. Letters, agendas, and minutes arising from the NPHET are available on the Department of Health website. I might add that papers discussed at the NPHET meetings from 30 January 2020 to 25 February 2020 inclusive are available to view on the DOH website at https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/691330-national-public-health-emergency-team-covid-19-coronavirus/.
Work is continuing to place the papers from further NPHET meetings on the website as quickly as possible, with additional papers to be published regularly going forward.