Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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763. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide the full details relating to the proposed appointment of an expert group to examine the handling of the pandemic; the way the process will work with specific regard to the need for in depth investigations into the tragic loss of life in nursing homes with over 2,400 deaths since the pandemic commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4899/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I, together with my colleague Minister Feighan, announced the establishment of an independent Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group on 25 January.

The Expert Group will initially focus on identifying learnings from the public health components of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland with a view towards strengthening health protection generally and future public health pandemic preparedness specifically. The Expert Group will also identify lessons from international best practice regarding reform and strengthening of other core public health functions, including the promotion of health and wellbeing, population health research and health intelligence and health service improvement.

The Group will produce a final report, which will be submitted to me by mid-2022.

The Group, which is chaired by Professor Hugh Brady, held its first meeting on 31 January. Membership of the Group is comprised of national and international experts with experience across a range of key domains, including public health, health protection, epidemiology, senior public health service leadership, change management, and risk and evidence communication. Further information on the Expert Group and details of its membership can be found online: www.gov.ie/en/press-release/8beb5-ministers-for-health-establish-the-public-health-reform-expert-advisory-group/

The independent COVID-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel was established, on foot of a NPHET recommendation, to examine the complex issues surrounding the management of COVID-19 among this particularly vulnerable cohort in nursing homes. This Expert Panel report, published in August 2020, has added further to our knowledge and learning. This report clearly outlines the key protective measures that we must ensure are in place across our nursing homes. These actions are based on learning from our own and the international experience of COVID-19 to date. In May 2021, HIQA and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) jointly published an “Analysis of factors associated with outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in nursing homes in Ireland”, delivering on recommendation 6.7 of the Expert Panel report, to further the learning from the pandemic. Further data analysis work and learning will also continue, in line with other recommendations of the Expert Panel and HIQA and the HPSC are developing a further update to this analysis. Work to progress the recommendations of the Expert Panel report, particularly those recommendations requiring a priority focus in the response to COVID-19, is ongoing across all of the health agencies and stakeholders. Continued learning and understanding of progression of the disease in Ireland is an integral part of those recommendations.

More broadly, the Taoiseach has indicated that a comprehensive evaluation of how the country managed COVID-19 will provide an opportunity to learn lessons from our experiences in dealing with a pandemic over the past two years. This will help ensure that we are in a better and stronger position if another pandemic, or another similar type emergency, arrives.