Written answers

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Department of Health

Medical Research and Training

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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556. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which an evaluation has been done into requirements in respect of medical research nationally; his plans to expand the services in the future with particular reference to the experiences of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31669/20]

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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557. To ask the Minister for Health the extent to which adequate resources and expertise remain available to ensure sufficient emphasis and investment in medical science here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31672/20]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 556 and 557 together.

My Department plays a lead role in public health and medical research in Ireland. The Department supports research in these areas through the Health Research Board (HRB), a statutory body under the aegis of the Department and a lead agency in Ireland supporting and funding health research. With an annual budget of approximately €45 million, and management of an investment portfolio of approximately €200 million, the HRB supports the conduct of clinical research and clinical trials, health services research, population health research, as well as managing a number of national health information systems on behalf of the Department.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the HRB have incorporated COVID -19 related research into their work programmes and have already played an important role (among other agencies and the wider academic community) in providing research inputs to the various sub-groups of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). Therefore, increased research in this area is being funded through existing allocations. These significant resources are currently being employed in a number of research projects in the medical research community to respond to Covid-19.

It is important to note also, that the HRB is collaborating with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the wider research and innovation community to ensure a coordinated and meaningful contribution to solving some of the challenges presented during the current Covid-19 crisis.

Furthermore, on behalf of the Irish Government, the Department of Health is providing funding of up to €2.5 million to enable participation in the SOLIDARITY Trial. The SOLIDARITY Trial is an international clinical trial launched by the World Health Organisation and partners to compare various treatment options for COVID-19. The trial will enable the identification of treatments that will reduce the severity of the infection, decrease the need for intensive care and reduce the infection’s mortality rate.

With regard to the Deputy’s question regarding evaluating requirements in respect of medical research nationally. The HRB monitoring and evaluation processes are delivered in three phases, guided by the Payback Framework and the HRB Evaluation Strategy for Funded Research 2017-2020. These processes evaluate the extent to which their funding is achieving their mission and delivering the intended benefits. The HRB is currently in the process of updating their evaluation strategy.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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