Message from our Chief Executive, Angela Fitzgerald

Welcome to our latest newsletter.

Ireland’s population-based health screening services are vital for the early detection and treatment of cancer, diabetic retinopathy and inherited conditions and hearing difficulties in new-born babies. Over the past few weeks, HIQA has announced some important developments on its work in relation to the screening programmes.

HIQA commences review of Ireland’s screening services

We have published the terms of reference for a review of the HSE’s governance arrangements for the provision of population-based health screening services in Ireland.

The review will examine the four screening programmes operated by the National Screening Service – BreastCheck, CervicalCheck, BowelScreen and Diabetic RetinaScreen – as well as the National Healthy Childhood Programme’s National Bloodspot Screening Programme and National Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Programme.

We recognise that the population-level screening services are pursuing measures to improve their services, increase participation and to address inequities in access and uptake across screening programmes. The review aims to provide assurance to the public that screening services are well governed and improvements made have been sustained.

Providing evidence-based support to the National Screening Advisory Committee

Recently, we announced the publication of a health technology assessment and the commencement of further assessments to support evidence‑based advice to the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) and its recommendations to the Minister for Health.

We published an assessment on extending the BowelScreen programme to people aged 50 to 54, which found that screening from the age of 50 reduces colorectal cancer deaths and is likely to be a good use of healthcare resources, though a phased approach and investment in capacity would be essential. Following our publication, the Minister for Health endorsed NSAC's recommendation to extend the age range of the programme informed by our work.

Our upcoming assessment work includes examining consideration of breast density within the BreastCheck programme, as well as an assessment of adding congenital adrenal hyperplasia to the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme, and an assessment of population-based screening for familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) in children. Our assessments in this area aim to ensure that screening decisions are grounded in rigorous, independent analysis of the clinical effectiveness and cost benefits.

Pictured above is Dr Barbara Foley, Deputy Director of Health Information and Quality, at the EHDS Community of Practice General Assembly meeting in Brussels in March.

The European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation will transform how health data is accessed, shared and used to support better outcomes for all across the European Union. Through the HealthData@IE project, we are working with the Department of Health, the Health Research Board and key stakeholders to develop the essential national infrastructure needed to support access to data for secondary use to fully implement the EHDS in Ireland.

To support implementation, we recently published a national readiness assessment of health data holders. This analysis identified where areas of governance and data quality need to improve so that data holders can meet EHDS requirements, while also highlighting current areas of good practice. It also reflected areas where guidance and training are required by data holders to support preparedness.

In March, our Deputy Director of Health Information and Quality, Dr Barbara Foley participated in the EHDS Community of Practice General Assembly meeting in Brussels. Barbara was appointed as Chair of Subgroup 5 of the Community of Practice for this year.

This work is critical to ensure good outcomes for people and directly supports other national policy and legislative developments underway, including the Health Information Bill 2024 which, when enacted, will provide the legal foundation for Ireland’s new health data governance framework.

Providing evidence to support informed health policy decision-making 

In recent weeks, our health technology assessment (HTA) and evidence synthesis work directly provided advice aimed at improving policy-making decisions at population level in Ireland.

Our advice on immunising infants and older adults against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) found that immunisation significantly reduces hospitalisation, with the greatest benefit in infants due to the highest burden of disease in this patient group. This would reduce winter overcrowding and help make our health service more resilient but is very expensive.

We provided advice to the HSE through our HTA on the use of teledermatology to support the management of primary care referrals which found that teledermatology is a safe and effective way to support faster, more appropriate management of dermatology referrals from primary care. 

We undertook a rapid HTA at the request of the Minister for Health examining the use of vesicostomy buttons as a way of managing urine storage and bladder emptying problems in children with certain health conditions which was published last month. While there were few studies published on this, no serious safety concerns were identified, and generally positive outcomes were reported.

Pictured above are HIQA Chief Executive Angela Fitzgerald with the Ombudsman for Children Niall Muldoon.

We have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ombudsman for Children’s Office. This important agreement strengthens the existing relationship between our two organisations and reflects our shared commitment to ensuring that all children and young people experience safe, high-quality social care services in Ireland.

This new MOU establishes a clear framework that will help us promote better health and social care services by sharing insights to highlight areas for improvement and drive positive change and also increase the awareness of each organisation’s statutory role, helping children, young people and their families better understand how we each work to protect and uphold children’s rights.

 HIQA awarded bronze accreditation by the Irish Centre for Diversity

Findings from our second year of inspecting IPAS centres published 

In March, we published an overview report on our findings from monitoring and inspecting International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres in 2025. Our report outlines improvements since we first began inspecting IPAS centres in 2024, with many service providers making changes and progress in critical areas that positively impacted on residents’ quality of life and living conditions. We also found that significant challenges continued across the wider sector, including a systematic inability to meet demand for those arriving in Ireland and those seeking to move out of IPAS centres.

HIQA launches learning catalogues for health and social care professionals and students

We have launched two new resources to help health and social care professionals and students embed best practice in their work. The catalogues are available on HIQA’s Learning Hub – the central point for supporting services and professionals to implement national standards and develop good practice to deliver improved experiences and better outcomes for people using services.

The catalogues allows users to: identify online learning courses, guidance and videos relevant to meet goals; support onboarding and induction of new staff and students; access quick reference materials to support day-to-day practice; and support the development of academic course content.

CICER launches online courses designed to increase participation in development of national clinical guidelines launched

The Centre in Ireland for Clinical Guideline Support and Evidence Reviews (CICER) at HIQA has launched new online learning courses designed to support patients, members of the public and healthcare professionals to take part in the development of national clinical guidelines. Co‑created with patients and clinicians, these accessible resources help demystify the guideline development process and support meaningful involvement. This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring public and patient involvement is embedded, visible and influential across our work at all times.