Advisory Science Council Urgently Calls For New Health Research Policy In Ireland

Ireland must develop and implement a new national health research strategy as a matter of urgency, according to a new report last week from the Government's advisory body on science, technology and innovation.

The report, Towards Better Health: Achieving a Step Change in Health Research in Ireland, was published last week at a launch attended by the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Micheál Martin and the Minister for Health Mary Harney.

The Government commissioned the Advisory Council on Science Technology and Innovation to produce the report.

Welcoming the report, the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said: "Developing the quality and quantity of health-related research in Ireland is a key element in making Ireland fully realise its objective of becoming a strong, vibrant knowledge economy."

The Minister for Health Mary Harney said health research had a major role to play in improving the health outcomes for patients in Ireland. "We have understandably concentrated in recent years on improving the efficiency and capacity of the health services", she said.

"It is now time to afford health-related research the priority it deserves. This will not only benefit patients through bringing new insights and possibly treatments to the front line of health service delivery.

"A vibrant health research sector will also attract practitioners of the highest calibre to work in Ireland."

The chairman of the advisory council Mary Cryan said that a new national health research strategy could significantly improve outcomes for patients and bring new commercial opportunities to the health sector. "Our goal is to make Ireland the destination of choice when advanced technology for health is being conceived, tested or implemented," she said.

Prof Tim O'Brien, Chairman of the task force that produced the report, said its implementation would allow Irish society recoup the benefit of health research carried out in Ireland and internationally. "There is huge potential to improve health outcomes for Irish people through health-related research in this country", he said.

"There is also great potential for industry in translating the results of such research into new diagnostics, medical devices and therapies. Our ambition in this report is to suggest how Ireland might realise that potential."

Recommendations

The report makes 21 recommendations on how policy makers, implementation bodies, universities, hospitals and enterprise can meet the challenges facing the health research sector. These include: