National Workshop: Strengthening Ireland's Pandemic Preparedness and Multisectoral Coordination
Date and time: 16th of September from 10AM-5PM and 17th of September from 9AM-4PM
Venue: Liffey Corner room, EPIC – The Irish Emigration Museum – Dublin, Ireland.
This National Workshop is organised and hosted by the Department of Health Ireland and the National Health Protection Office, HSE, Ireland, with full support from the EPIC11 project.
The National Workshop aims to foster a collaborative and integrated approach to Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response (EPRR) planning, while promoting coordinated actions within Ireland. It will draw on lessons learned and best practices from other countries to help strengthen national EPRR capacities. The workshop will also contribute to Ireland’s preparation for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessment (PHEPA) mission scheduled for June 2026. It seeks to enhance stakeholder understanding of the new Health Security Framework (HSF), and to provide a space for structured reflection on the strengths and gaps in current national pandemic preparedness efforts. The event will serve as a platform to build shared understanding, promote coordination across sectors, and inform the next iteration of the national pandemic plan and related preparedness programmes. It will also support the discussions on the recently redrafted HSE Operational Pandemic Plan.
The specific objectives of the workshop are to:
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Strengthen coordination and collaboration in EPRR planning through a multi-stakeholder approach.
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Prepare stakeholders for the upcoming Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessments (PHEPA) mission in June 2026 by clarifying its legal basis, objectives, and expected outcomes.
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Support the implementation and testing of Ireland’s recently updated HSE Operational Pandemic Plan, using the workshop as an opportunity to identify strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement to inform future iterations of this and other preparedness programmes, nationally and regionally.
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Identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities in national EPPR efforts to inform the PHEPA assessment and support the development of a targeted action plan.
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Promote alignment and clarity of roles across sectors involved in pandemic preparedness and facilitate coordination through stakeholder engagement and the development of a shared roadmap for next steps.
The National Workshop will be conducted in person at the venue, with the exception of selected sessions delivered online by international speakers.
The event will serve as a collaborative platform for representatives from public health (nationally and regionally), emergency management, laboratory services, environmental health, hospitals, and related sectors. Participants will engage in structured discussions and group work aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and identifying concrete actions to inform national planning. The workshop will also include peer-learning sessions with other Member States that have recently undergone PHEPA assessments.
Programme
This two-day workshop will combine presentations from national and international experts and interactive group discussions. Participants will receive an overview of the EU Health Security Framework and the PHEPA process, followed by focused discussions on the strengths and gaps in Ireland’s current pandemic planning efforts. Special attention will be given to the HSE Operational Pandemic Plan and lessons from the national planning exercise “Ex Pandora”. Participants will co-develop concrete next steps to guide preparations ahead of the 2026 PHEPA assessment. A social dinner will offer space for informal networking at the close of Day 1. A detailed programme will be shared with registered participants.
Key topics covered
Day 1: 16 Sep, 9:30-17:00
- EU Health Security Framework overview
- PPR planning process
- Overview of Ireland’s public health system
- Emergency governance and the HealthThreats Management Committee (HTMC) roles
- HSE Operational Pandemic Plan
- Exercise Pandora: findings and reflections
- National and regional preparedness gaps and actions
Day 2: 17 Sep, 9:00-16:00
- Overview of the PHEPA process and capacities to be assessed in 2026
- Learning from other EU countries
- Group work: planning by capacity area
- Action planning: central and regional priorities
Participants
This workshop is open to representatives from the Department of Health, the HSE (National and Regional Teams), entities involved in health protection, public health, emergency management, environment and health, laboratory services, hospitals, animal health, food safety, and other key partner agencies. Attendance is by invitation only. All travel, accommodation, and catering costs will be covered for the eligible participants.
Preparatory materials
In a closed circulation the participants will receive ahead of the national workshop:
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Exercise Pandora pre-exercise and briefing documents
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Exercise Pandora report
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Updated HSE Operational Pandemic Plan (post-exercise)
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Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health (SCBTH)
About EPIC11 project
The EPIC11 project is funded by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) and supported by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and focuses on the provision of Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR) trainings under Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health (SCBTH). The project aims to enhance preparedness capabilities across the EU and EEA countries to better respond to future health emergencies of EU concern through the development and implementation of a comprehensive EU health preparedness training programme for health specialists and through creating platforms for targeted knowledge exchange across borders and sectors within countries and internationally (Article 11 SCBTH).