Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
672. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any gaps, deficiencies, or capacity constraints were identified during the national pandemic command post exercise conducted in March 2025; to list each issue identified under the headings staffing, laboratory capacity, IT systems, public health infrastructure, and points of entry; and to outline the remedial actions approved by her Department in response. [73499/25]
View answer673. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department received a written report, lessons learned document, or formal evaluation arising from the March 2025 national pandemic command post exercise; the date it was received; which senior officials reviewed it; and whether the report is available for publication. [73500/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 672 and 673 together.
The HSE’s Exercise PANDORA, held on 6 March 2025, was a national command post exercise designed to exercise the HSE’s response capabilities to an escalating highly pathogenic avian influenza emergency, informed by the HSE Operational Pandemic Plan (HSE OPP). The aim of the exercise was to assess operationalisation of the HSE OPP.
A report on this exercise was compiled by the HSE and submitted to the Chief Medical Officer in my Department on 21 July 2025. The outcomes of this report are helping to enhance pandemic preparedness both within the HSE and within my Department. As this exercise was conducted by the HSE its publication is a matter for the HSE.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) is Ireland's specialist service for the surveillance of communicable disease and Ireland's national International Health Regulations (IHR) Focal Point. The IHR are a binding international agreement governing how countries manage public health risks that have the potential for cross-border spread.
SPAR is the acronym for the States Parties Self-Assessment Annual Reporting tool. This is an online questionnaire used by the 196 IHR Member States to report annually to the World Health Assembly on their progress in implementing the 15 core IHR capacities, such as surveillance, laboratory systems, and points of entry. The data, including Ireland’s annual response, is compiled and disseminated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), details of which are available on the WHO website: www.who.int/emergencies/operations/international-health-regulations-monitoring-evaluation-framework/states-parties-self-assessment-annual-reporting. My Department, in collaboration with the HSE, consistently reviews levels of compliance with the IHR core capacities.
