Government approves new agency to prepare for public threats including pandemics

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will now appoint an expert to design this agency, which will focus on infectious diseases, pandemic preparedness, and other emerging threats to public health. Picture: Brian Lawless

The Government has approved the establishment of an agency to prepare for new health threats including pandemics, health minister Stephen Donnelly has confirmed. 

He will now appoint an expert to design this agency, which will focus on infectious diseases, pandemic preparedness, and other emerging threats to public health. A proposal on the scope and functions of the agency is expected to be brought to Government within six months.

Mr Donnelly said approval of the new agency follows a new report by a Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group.

“Ireland responded very well to the covid-19 pandemic, and the report confirms this, pointing to lower excess mortality, lower surges in hospitalisations, and high vaccination rates when compared with other EU countries,” he said.

However, we must be ready for future unknown health threats. This new agency will ensure strengthened preparedness, by consolidating existing expertise across the health service together with additional resources.

The office of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is also being strengthened. CMO Professor Breda Smyth elcomed the report, and said: “We must continue to work together to be prepared for future emerging health threats.” 

 She referred to other viruses including mpox (previously known as monkey pox), Ebola, and avian influenza. “I welcome Government’s commitment to strengthening pandemic preparedness and preparedness for other emerging health threats and to strengthening my office to lead this work,” she said.

The group working on the report, led by president of Imperial College London, Professor Hugh Brady, examined how public health systems operated in Ireland during the pandemic.

Report findings

They found “the most vulnerable in society were most impacted by the covid‑19 pandemic and response”, highlighting elderly people and disadvantaged groups such as Irish Travellers and homeless people.

They also noted a gendered impact, with women more strongly affected by an increase in domestic violence. The report highlights the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) briefings and other national communication as a strength, but raised concerns around internal communication structures.

A need for strong lines of communication was highlighted, “people working on the ground in departments often finding out changes in relation to isolation/contact management/location specific changes on (the) six o’clock news”.

The report notes “significant innovations” in IT infrastructure during this time, but highlights concerns including that patients do not have a unique or individual health identifier code.

At the start of the pandemic, they found “limited modelling capacity was available within the system”.

This was addressed by quickly setting up the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group to Nphet, they said, but also found this reactive approach highlighted deficiencies in public health systems.

The report praised staff reaction to the pandemic, saying: “The resilience and agility of the public health workforce has been highlighted as a strength.” However, they warned of burnout and risks to staff well-being.

The Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group was independent and responsible for the organisation and direction of its work, with administrative support provided by a secretariat from the Department of Health.