Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 December 2025
1032. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to provide copies of all public-health guidance, internal advisories or instructions issued by her Department, or the HSE since 1 January 2020 that arose from public-health risk assessments concerning communicable-disease risks among persons arriving into the State; and to list the date and issuing authority for each document. [69961/25]
View answerThe National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) was an established mechanism for coordinating the health sector response to significant public health emergencies. It facilitated the sharing of information between the Department of Health and its agencies. Throughout its existence, the NPHET for COVID-19 oversaw and provided national direction, guidance, support and expert advice on the development and implementation of a strategy to contain COVID-19 in Ireland.
In particular, the NPHET played a critical role in closely and continuously monitoring the evolving impact of COVID-19 on Ireland’s population, as well as the health service’s capacity, performance, and ability to respond.
The decisions and recommendations of the NPHET are published in full here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-health/collections/minutes-and-agendas-from-meetings-of-the-nphet-covid-19/.
As the Deputy will be aware, a COVID-19 Evaluation Panel has been established. This is an independent, non-statutory evaluation, with a wide remit that will incorporate pandemic responses across hospitals, the community and nursing homes, along with wider economic and societal impacts.
With respect to the development of public health risk assessments (PHRA), the Department of Health does not conduct technical assessments. PHRA are undertaken by the HSE and its Public Health units, including the National Health Protection Office and its partners. As such, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
