John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

790. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the impact of antimicrobial resistance on the health service in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33834/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to patient safety and public health. The European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) includes AMR in its top three priority health threats and it is one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) top ten global public health threats.

Ireland has taken several significant steps to tackle AMR using a One Health Approach, in line with international best practice. The goal of the One Health concept is to encourage multidisciplinary collaborative efforts across different sectors such as human health, animal health, agriculture, and the environment to achieve optimal health outcomes. It has been acknowledged globally that a One Health approach is the most effective way to address the global AMR challenge.

Officials in the Department of Health have worked closely with colleagues in the animal health and environment sectors to agree national policy on AMR since the National Interdepartmental AMR Consultative Committee was established in 2014. This committee is co-chaired by the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer and the Chief Veterinary Officer and meets twice yearly.

National Action Plans on AMR provide the roadmap to help address this issue and are an international commitment for Member States of both the European Commission and the World Health Organization. Ireland has delivered on this commitment since 2017 with two action plans - iNAP1 which was published in 2017, and our current national action plan, iNAP2, which was published in 2021. The human health actions in both plans were developed through engagement with internal and external stakeholders. Out of the 95 human health actions in our current plan, iNAP2 (2021-2025), 94% are either complete or in progress.

Our third national action plan on AMR is currently under development and an extensive stakeholder engagement process is underway to inform it. As part of this work, the Department recently ran a public consultation on the development of the next plan. The HSE’s Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control Division (AMRIC) support the delivery of iNAP2 with the HSE AMRIC Action Plan. The Department will continue to engage closely with the HSE on the development of the next national action plan and identification of priority actions.