merrion street

Minister James Reilly today 27 February 2014 welcomed the launch of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs 2014. The Action Plan demonstrates the Government’s commitment to create and maintain jobs in Ireland.

The Jobs Action Plan outlines the initiatives the Department of Health will take this year to progress the eHealth Strategy. It also includes actions to progress the Health Identifiers Bill and to publish the Health Information Bill, both of which are important to the health system but which can have enterprise benefit.

Minister Reilly said, “Last December I published the eHealth Strategy. This is an area which has been identified as having the potential to transform healthcare delivery systems. It also brings significant potential for economic development, including job creation, entrepreneurial start-ups and further direct foreign investment. The strategy seeks to exploit all of the many benefits which today’s ICT has to offer in modernising the way we treat patients and particularly in providing care in the most appropriate setting and at the most appropriate level within the health services.”

Continuing Minister Reilly said, “Another key initiative is the Health Innovation Hub. Last year’s Action Plan and this year’s Action plan include measures to bring this initiative to fruition. Good progress is being made through the Demonstrator (pilot) in Cork with a second round of projects being examined for engagement with the Demonstrator. This provides a unique opportunity for enterprise and the health system, and my Department will continue to work with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to bring proposals for Government consideration later in the year on the steps required for the establishment of a national Health Innovation Hub.”

Also included in the Action Plan for Jobs are initiatives which the Health Research Board, an agency of the Department of Health, will continue to progress. In particular the HRB will continue to take steps to establish Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs) in Dublin, Cork and Galway and provide a collaborative framework to link all CRFs by 2016. A robust clinical research infrastructure, including highly specialised expertise and capacity, is essential in development and delivering health care and 8,000 participants have taken part in clinical studies in these CRFs so far. Their establishment will also facilitate closer collaboration between the health system and industry.