Dr. Paul Kavanagh:

I am happy to lead and other colleagues may add. On the Senator's question and point around health mapping, it would be an output from the public health dataset we are talking about. It would be important that any data be indexed in terms of geography. It would allow us to produce that sort of health map.

Going back to the history and the genesis of public health, we think about John Snow, cholera in London and his ability to control that as a threat to public health. It was all down to understanding the geography and the spread of that within London. It is exactly the same now with regard to our contemporary challenges around public health. Certainly in the South - and it would be similar in the north of the island - there is a big emphasis now on population health needs assessment and trying to build up an understanding with communities of what their assets and not what their challenges are regarding health and well-being. The emphasis is also on trying to work with them to make sure there is a wide range of health services and on working across sectors to ensure there is a positive influence on their health and well-being in terms of local government looking at green spaces, water and air quality, etc. All of that work would be underpinned by an understanding of health and well-being from a public health dataset. One of the dimensions of that understanding would include geography or trying to map that across the island of Ireland. There would be huge opportunities there.