A survey of health-related research in the Republic, commissioned by the Health Research Board (HRB) and presented yesterday at a conference in Dublin, shows annual health-related research expenditure to be in the region of £30 million. This compares with an annual figure of £2 billion for Britain.
Those who compiled the survey, commissioned by the Health Research Board, had "considerable difficulty" obtaining data from the State's health boards. The five health boards who did reply accounted for £662,000 of healthcare research expenditure.
The results were presented at the Dublin conference yesterday, "Making Knowledge Work for Health". Addressing the conference, Dr Kevin Kelleher, director of public health in the Mid Western Health Board, referred to the difficult position of health boards as both research expenditure consumers as well as providers of research funding at a local level.
Yesterday's conference was the end stage of a consultative process by the Health Research Board . Almost 300 delegates attended, representing the health services, the voluntary sector, the healthcare industry as well as universities and third-level colleges.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, speaking at the conference, expressed his support for a definite strategy for health research, which he hopes to see published in July. The Minister also noted the enhanced co-operation in North-South health research.
Dr Don Thornhill, Chairman of the Higher Education Authority, who put the case for Government involvement in third-level healthcare research, referred to Ireland's position in the bottom third of OECD and EU tables of spending in this area.
Some speakers used the conference to respond to the HRB discussion document, "Towards a Strategy for Research and Innovation for Health".
Prof Hannah McGee of the Royal College of Surgeons pointed to child health as an under-resourced and under-researched sector. She also reminded the conference of the need for domestic research.
Dr Evelyn Mahon, of the sociology department in Trinity College Dublin, asked delegates to consider moving beyond the negative disease model of healthcare to one which has a more positive social focus. "We must improve access to healthcare benefits if we want the public to continue to support medical research," she said.
Prof Dermot Kelleher, of the TCD department of clinical medicine, illustrated the significant advances made by researchers in the last three years at several levels, including an increased number of publications in major international journals.
Dr Kevin Kelleher of the MWHB put forward what he saw as the key challenge for everyone working in health research: the need to put results into routine practice without undue delay. He also appealed for the setting up of regional research ethics committees to protect those people who volunteer their services for healthcare research.