Publication
Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
In July 2021, the Minister for Health and Government agreed to establish a Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group. In January 2022, the government approved the Group’s membership and mandate, and the Group commenced its work.
The Group was requested to examine the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.
The Group’s work was informed by presentations on policy, reform and operational activity, a consultation and engagement process with organisations and individuals working in public health in Ireland, key stakeholder meetings, a consultation with vulnerable groups and significant inputs from both the WHO and HIQA.
The report of the Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group went to Government on 6 September 2023 and following a government decision, the report was published.
| Name | Title/role |
| Chair: Prof Hugh Brady | President, Imperial College London |
| Dr Helen Bevan | Chief Transformation Officer, NHS Horizons |
| Prof Hannah McGee | Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences |
| Prof Jaap T. Van Dissel | Director of the RIVM Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Netherlands |
| Prof Johan Giesecke | Professor Emeritus at the Karolinska Institute Medical University in Stockholm. Vice Chair of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards (WHO) |
| Prof Peter Piot | Handa Professor of Global Health, former Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine & EU Chief Scientific Advisor on Epidemics |
| Prof Yvonne Doyle | Medical Director for Public Health (NHS), NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) |
| Dr Tracey Cooper | Chief Executive Officer, Public Health Wales and former head of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) |
| Dr Alexandra Freeman | Executive Director, Winton Centre for Risk & Evidence Communication, University of Cambridge |
| Prof Cecily Kelleher | College Principal, UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences |
| Prof Patricia Fitzpatrick | Full Professor of Epidemiology & Biomedical Statistics, and Head of Subject for Public Health at University College Dublin |
| Dr Sinéad Hanafin | Visiting Research Fellow, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin |
| Dr Tadhg Crowley | General Practitioner and Associate Clinical Professor, University College Dublin |
Report of the Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group
Download link for
Download
View the file
View
Tuarascáil an tSainghrúpa Chomhairligh um Athchóiriú Sláinte Poiblí
Download link for
Download
View the file
View
As part of its work, the Group benefitted from a number of significant inputs including a WHO Report on the delivery of essential public health functions in Ireland; work by HIQA including a descriptive analysis of COVID-19 epidemiological indicators and associated contextual factors in European countries; a high-level review of the configuration and reform of public health systems in selected countries and a consultation and engagement process with organisations and individuals working in public health in Ireland. The Group also commissioned insights and research into vulnerable populations, using one‑to‑one interviews with people in vulnerable groups and those working directly with vulnerable people.
For further background reading:
- WHO Report: Essential Public Health Functions in Ireland
- HIQA Report: Descriptive analysis of COVID-19 epidemiological indicators and associated contextual factors in European countries
- HIQA Report: High-level review of configuration and reform of public health systems in selected countries
- Analysis of public consultation surveys to inform the work of the Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group