Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 October 2022
709. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Health if he will consider adapting a mechanism similar to the independent public inquiry to examine the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48548/22]
View answerThe Deputy is advised that Ireland’s has pursued a public health-led, whole of society response to the management of COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, the response has been underpinned by our core national priorities of protecting the most vulnerable in society from the severe impacts of the disease, minimising the burden on the healthcare system, and continuing to keep schools and childcare facilities open.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not over. The Office of the Chief Medical Officer continues to closely monitor the epidemiological profile of the disease and provide advice in relation to ongoing decision-making processes in respect of the pandemic. The importance of ongoing vigilance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifically in relation to the autumn/winter 2022/2023 period, has been signalled through international guidance. Work has been underway in my Department with regard to preparedness and contingency planning for the coming winter season, which is traditionally a very challenging time for our health and social services.
Government has previously acknowledged the importance of reviewing the response to the pandemic. Since the beginning of the response, there has been a clear national commitment to continue to learn from the pandemic and, where necessary, to ensure that the public health-led approach evolves, as evidence and learning materialises.
The Department of Health has taken an adaptive approach to the elements of the response falling within its remit. It has continuously worked to capture and to apply lessons learned from the national and international COVID-19 response to date. The Department has demonstrated its commitment to learning lessons from pandemic response across multiple domains to date.
In May 2020, Government established the Nursing Home Expert Panel which examined and advised on the COVID-19 response in long-term residential healthcare settings. The Expert Panel’s report was published on 19th August 2020 is available here. The Fourth Progress Report on implementation of the recommendations of Expert Panel is available here.
In January 2022, a Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group (PHREAG) commenced its work with Terms of Reference approved by Government. It was tasked with identifying learnings from the public health components of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland and internationally with a view towards strengthening public health including health protection generally and future public health threat and pandemic preparedness specifically. Further details on the PHREAG are available here.
In April 2022, the Minister for Health established the COVID-19 Advisory Group (CAG), to consider and advise on how best to maximise Ireland’s medium to long-term preparedness for future challenges posed by COVID-19. The CAG has considered lessons learned from the pandemic in its work. The recommendations of the CAG, with relevant World Health Organization (WHO), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and European Commission guidance, have informed my Department’s strategic approach to the management of COVID-19 for autumn/winter 2022/2023.
The Taoiseach has indicated that a comprehensive evaluation of how the country managed COVID-19 will provide an opportunity to learn lessons from our experiences in dealing with a pandemic over the past two years. This will help ensure that we are in a better, stronger position if another pandemic or another similar type emergency arrives. Consideration is being given as to what the best model for this evaluation will be.
