Ms Suzanne Costello:

Public health is probably political. There are political determinants of health that are most obvious in terms of public health. Much of the good work in public health is done through legislation and regulation, which is inherently political. Ireland has a particularly good record of leadership around tobacco control and alcohol legislation. There is certainly great commitment in Northern Ireland at the moment from the Minister for Health, Mike Nesbitt MLA, around the issue of health inequalities. Public health has come onto the political agenda in the past five to ten years in a very meaningful way. We have always had good public health leaders in the health roles. We are now beginning to see a greater understanding of the role of other Government Departments and other policy areas on people's health and well-being. That is definitely progress.