Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2023
571. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if his Department or any of its agencies are involved in any exercise, operation, training or research which includes involvement by any Israeli state agency, any Israeli-based company or any company based elsewhere in the world which is owned or part-owned by any Israeli state agency or by any Israeli-based company. [51065/23]
View answerMy Department participates in and attends a number of European and international meetings hosted and organised by the European Commission, and international bodies, such as the World Health Organisation, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development among others, at which Israel, as a member or as a grantee of observer status, attends.
My Department has also had a number of engagements with officials representing the government of Israel, in 2021, 2022 and to-date in 2023.
• As part of the Chief Dental Officers Group in the WHO European Region the Chief Dental Officer of Ireland engaged with the Chief Dental Officer of Israel as part of the CDO meetings at European level of which Ireland is currently the President.
• In response to a Ministerial request on information in comparator countries which explicitly included Israel, colleagues working in my Department had a scheduled call with two officials from the Israeli Ministry of Health to discuss the aforementioned.
• Minister Rabbitte and departmental colleagues, including the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer (DCNO), attended the 72nd Session of the World Health Organisation Regional Committee for Europe on 12-14 September 2022 in Tel Aviv. Minister Rabbitte met with the Ambassador to Israel, in the lead up to this meeting. The CNO and DCNO also met with the Israeli Chief Government Nurse, Dr. Shoshy Goldberg, on the 15 September 2022.
• A virtual meeting was held between the Chief Nursing Officer of Ireland and her team and the Chief Government Nurse and Head of the Nursing Division of the Israeli Ministry of Health and her colleagues on 6 December 2022.
• In relation to the Policy Dialogue event on Dual Practice, organised by the OECD and my Department, on 3 May 2023, Dr. Alexey Belinsky from the Israeli Ministry of Health presented on Israel's experience in regulating dual practice.
• A representative from the Nursing Division of the Israeli Ministry of Health visited my Department on 3 October 2023 and met with officials from my Department and from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.
• Correspondence was received from the Israeli Chief Government Nurse in relation to the situation in Gaza and Israel on 13 October 2023.
My Department also receives copies of licenses from the Israeli Ministry of Health in respect of the import/export of controlled drugs between Ireland and Israel.
Details for other bodies under the aegis of my Department are operational matters for the bodies concerned and the Deputy should contact the relevant Director/CEO/Registrar directly.
As the Deputy may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday 6th October. As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the question asked by the Deputy may be delayed in receiving a response directly from the HSE
