Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
1568. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health if he will list the ongoing research commissioned under the remit of his Department through the North-South Ministerial Council, Shared Island Initiative or other all-island arrangements; if he will outline the research that has been completed; the date of publication of the research since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56916/23]
View answerEnhancing North-South cooperation continues to be a priority for the Irish Government. In the health domain, I am committed to continuing close and productive cooperation with Northern Ireland. My department is working with partners in Northern Ireland to improve cooperation in health and social care where there are clear benefits for both jurisdictions and for patients across the island.
I can attest that, according to our records, my department has not commissioned any direct research under these headings since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. However, the Department has benefitted from research undertaken by its partner organisations, such as the Institute of Public Health and the Health Research Board to support the workings of the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC), the Shared Island Initiative and other all-island programmes such as the European Union (EU) Funding Initiatives.
The Institute of Public Health (IPH) works closely with divisions within my Department and the Department of Health, Northern Ireland, the HSE and Northern Ireland Public Health Agency to improve health and health inequity issues.
The Health Research Board have a longstanding history of collaborating extensively with partners in Northern Ireland to leverage expertise and funding, to develop joint working between researchers within academia and with industry, to access infrastructures and networks, and to collectively tackle major health challenges.
Examples of research undertaken by these organisations in partnership with my department are listed below under the various headings:
North South Ministerial Council (NSMC)
The Institute of Public Health has reported to the NSMC on a number of occasions under the Health and Food Safety Sector, principally under the ‘health promotion’ area of cooperation. Any reports which resulted from these interactions are included in the attached spreadsheet.
It has never received a commission or otherwise been requested to deliver research directly to the NSMC or the Shared Island Initiative.
Shared Island
My department regularly engages with the Shared Island Unit (SIU) in the Department of the Taoiseach and in June, I approved the commitment of €5m in funding for a new Daisy Lodge Centre to be built in Cong, Co. Mayo, with a co-payment of €2.5m from the Shared Island Unit through the Government’s Shared Island Fund. There are also ongoing discussions on possible future projects, in the health sector, under the fund.
The purpose of the Shared Island research programme is to provide high-quality evidence and analysis on the opportunities, and the challenges, around deepening cooperation and connections on the island. I understand that the Shared Island Unit works closely with the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Irish Research Council (IRC) and other partners. Research is progressed in consultation with lead Departments. Further information is available at www.gov.ie/SharedIsland/Research
Below is a list of some of research undertaken by the Shared Island Unit, and partners, which are of interest to my department:
• National Economic and Social Council (NESC)
• - Shared Island; Shared Opportunity (April 2022)
• Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI):
2021 Programme
- Analysis of primary health care systems of Ireland and Northern Ireland (March 2022)
- Changing Social and Political Attitudes in Ireland and Northern Ireland (November 2023)
- Gender and Labour Market Inclusion on the Island of Ireland (Q1 2024)
• Irish Research Council (IRC):
• The Irish Research Council (IRC) in cooperation with the SIU undertakes research projects under the New Foundations Programme in areas extending across culture, science, education, law, equality and community relations.
• 2021 Programme: 11 projects
• 2022 Programme: 8 projects (for publication in 2024)
• Other research:
- Labour Employment Economic Forum (LEEF) Shared Island Working Group
- Research commissioned on the all-island labour market, , for publication in Q1 2024.
All-island arrangements
The Institute of Public health (IPH) has, on occasion, delivered new all-island research studies from within its own small operating budget when agreed by the Board. However, there is no defined framework for North South research system development, beyond one-off grant funding. The IPH undertake other work which focuses on either Ireland or Northern Ireland individually. This work can be view it on its website at publichealth.ie/resources
The Health Research Board’s Strategy (2021-2025) has an explicit goal to collaborate with the Health and Social Care (HSC) Public Health Agency and other stakeholders in Northern Ireland to advance all-island activities in areas of mutual interest. By working across the island of Ireland it delivers research and innovation that addresses shared challenges on the island and is also globally relevant and impactful.
The Health Research Board has a large number of awards with co-applicants and partners from Northern Ireland and below is a summary of the most significant initiatives that are purposefully designed, funded and evaluated as all-island initiatives.
US-Ireland R&D Partnership
The U.S. Ireland Research & Development (R&D) Partnership has developed over several years, and is a partnership between the United States, Northern Ireland and Ireland. It was officially launched in 2006 having grown out of an earlier task force established at the U.S. Ireland Business Summit in Washington, DC, in 2002. The stated purpose of the partnership is “to increase the level of collaborative R&D amongst researchers and industry professionals across the three jurisdictions”. It achieves its goals through tri-partite research projects in which the funding agencies fund the elements of research undertaken in their own jurisdiction. Health is one thematic area prioritised as an important challenge for the health and prosperity of the citizens of the United States, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
For health research, the US partner agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In Ireland the partner agencies are Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Health Research Board (HRB). In Northern Ireland (NI) the partner agencies are the Health & Social Care R&D Division (HSC R&D). To date, the HRB has co-invested in 15 health-related projects to date with SFI, NI and US partners.
National Cancer Institute All-Ireland Cancer Consortium
In 1999, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) formed a multilateral partnership with Ireland and Northern Ireland in the context of the Good Friday Agreement, named the All-Ireland Cancer Consortium. The aim of the consortium was to reduce cancer incidence and mortality on the island of Ireland through cross-border and transatlantic collaborations in cancer research and education.
Working groups have been established to consider and propose funding opportunities and or activities to advance these thematic areas, subject to approval from the Steering Group. The Department of Health, as the representative from Ireland on the Steering Group has a key role in shaping the work programme under the Consortium. The HRB also plays a lead role supporting the Department of Health and in operationalising and managing the Consortium.
Under the Consortium, there is a Joint Doctoral Training Programme in Precision Cancer Medicine under which up to five fellows each year will be supported to conduct unique Doctoral Training Programme (DTP) in Precision Cancer Medicine (PCM), in an agreement between research-intensive institutions with a major focus on cancer in Northern Ireland (NI) and Republic of Ireland and the US National Cancer Institute (NCI). This will provide premier training experience for the PhD students, and will also serve as an unrivalled opportunity to develop research partnerships between research-performing organisations on the island of Ireland and NCI researchers.
Evidence Synthesis Ireland
Evidence Synthesis Ireland (ESI) is an all-Ireland initiative funded by the Health Research Board (HRB) and the Health and Social Care, Research and Development (HSC R&D) Division of the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland since 2002. ESI has a broad-based work programme which includes training and capacity building, networking and methodological development in the area of evidence synthesis in order to ensure that research is better designed, conducted and reported and is more accessible and useable for decision makers within health care policy and clinical practice.
ESI works at the interface between national and global evidence. During the Covid-19 pandemic, ESI worked with partner organisations and academic centres to support the evolving evidence needs of the World Health Organisation and they participated in the Covid-19 Evidence Network to support Decision Making (COVID-END), which is a time-limited network that brings together more than 50 of the world’s leading evidence-synthesis, technology-assessment and guideline-development groups around the world.
After a very successful first phase (2018-2021), ESI is now in its second phase of funding (2021-2025), an important focus of this phase is further strengthening the All-island component of this initiative.
All-Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC)
The HRB and the HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency Northern Ireland jointly fund a Palliative Care Research Network (PCRN) within the All-Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC). This network, established in 2012, includes leading researchers from academia, the healthcare system, hospices, charities and other partner organisations across the island to focus on palliative care research that has high impact, builds research capacity and drives collaboration.
The network places significant emphasis on effective knowledge transfer and exchange between researchers, clinicians, policymakers and the public and it has developed and provided access to a palliative hub for sharing findings, tools, resources and other knowledge.
The PCRN works very closely with the HSE Clinical Care Programme in Palliative Care and will play an important coordinating and enabling role for numerous research, data and evidence actions included in the, soon-to-be-published, Palliative Care Strategy.
DRNI (Dementia Research Network Ireland)
DRNI is an all-island network that aims to facilitate, support and promote interdisciplinary collaboration between academics, policy actors and experts across the island of Ireland and internationally in dementia and neurodegenerative research. DRNI also support early career researchers in the area of dementia and neurodegenerative research. DRNI is currently funded by the HRB until December 2024.
Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) Programme
This is a unique all island cross-institutional, comprehensive programme for clinician scientists based at six major universities and their affiliated hospital groups with a total investment of approximately €16million from the HRB.
ICAT provides integrated, fellow-centric clinical academic training to excellent postgraduate clinical trainees across all disciplines of human medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry through a programme which integrates PhD research training, of the highest quality, with higher specialist training. The Programme provides clinical academic training to fellows within a well-resourced infrastructure, designed to build their potential to become world-class future clinical academic leaders. ICAT delivers a programme focused on global health challenges, aligning with key national and international healthcare and research strategies (e.g., Sláintecare, Integrated Care, Digital Strategy, Cancer Strategy), focused on relevant and important knowledge gaps. In addition to the primary objectives of training, ICAT increases the output of high-impact, high-quality, relevant research aligned with structured academic career pathways.
In the period between 2016 and 2030, the Programme will have trained 81 fellows at PhD level alongside higher specialist clinical training and the collaboration. In addition to the six universities (which includes QUB), the partnership also comprises the clinical training authorities North and South, the HSE National Doctoral Training and Planning HSE-NDTP, Health and Social Care Research and Development Unit (HSC R&D), Northern Ireland Medical, Dental and Training Agency (NIMDTA), College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI) and Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM). All these partners provide financial support to the ICAT programme to supplement the HRB core funding.
EU Funding
Many researchers on the island have been successful in achieving funding from international sources, particularly the European Union which, following the Lisbon Strategy in 2000 and the publication of Europe 2020[1] in 2010, has put research and innovation at the forefront of European social and economic policy. EU research funding programmes present major opportunities to collaborate nationally, Ireland-Northern Ireland and internationally, to leverage national funding, and to develop joint working between academia and industry. There are three major funding sources relevant to the area of health – Horizon 2020, Interreg V, and the EU Public Health Programme.
EU Framework Programme Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe is the main European Framework Programme for research and innovation during the period 2021-2027, with a total budget of €95.5 billion. A dedicated Health Cluster supports research and innovation in six health-related challenges that benefits people, patients and populations as well as institutional, social and economic stakeholders in the EU. It places a growing importance on health education and behaviour, on developing health promoting environments, on transforming health care systems to cope with demographic, epidemiological, technological and environmental transitions, on applying innovation and adopting new tools within the health system and on supporting health industry to develop novel technologies.
There are established supports for Irish applicants on an all-island basis through the Irish National Support Network led by Enterprise Ireland and support offered by InterTradeIreland and InvestNI through the Northern Ireland Network. Specific support for the Health area is provided by a National Delegate (ND) and two National Contact Points (NCP) based across the Health Research Board and Enterprise Ireland and two Northern Ireland Contact Points (NINCP) based in the two Northern Ireland universities.
Following Brexit, the association of the UK to Horizon Europe was at a standstill pending the outcome of EU-UK political negotiations. During that time, researchers in the UK could still participate in calls, with funding directly from the UK, but could not lead projects and were not privy to planning and strategic discussions. This had implications for cross-border collaborations under the programme, with only one project with partners from Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, the UK have now rejoined Horizon Europe and cross-border activity has recommenced.
The HRB are committed to strengthening working relationships with Northern Ireland through existing and future EU Partnerships, and in particular as Ireland looks to participate in the EU Cancer Mission and new EU Partnerships in important areas such as rare diseases, personalised medicine, One Health/AMR, pandemic preparedness and Transforming Healthcare systems.
INTERREG VA Programme
Under the health theme of the INTERREG VA Programme, the Public Health Agency in NI and the HRB in Ireland secured an investment of €8.4 million, including 15% contribution from the Departments of Health in NI and Ireland, to fund 11 health and social care intervention trials in Northern Ireland and border region in Ireland. This Cross-border Healthcare Intervention Trials In Ireland Network (CHITIN) developed research infrastructure and capacity in asthma, stroke, diabetes and mental health. The network spanned a range of disciplines such as Primary Care, Public Health and involves a broad range of Health and Social Care professionals. The CHITIN project is now complete, as of 30th June 2023, with all 11 research teams having completed the delivery of their planned health interventions.
PEACEPLUS is a new European Union funding programme with a budget of €1.1 billion designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland, building upon the work of the previous PEACE and INTERREG Programmes. The HRB and HSC R&D continue to pursue opportunities to support cross border research under PEACEPLUS, especially in the area of Building and Embedding Partnership and Collaboration.
[1] European Commission (2010) Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Brussels (COM). Accessed from: ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm
