In anticipation of a General Election within the next year, our colleagues in Health Research Charities Ireland (HRCI) have launched their General Election manifesto.
The HRCI is the national umbrella organisation of charities engaged in health, medical and social care research and champion their 45+ members’ interests, to enhance the environment for health research in Ireland.
The manifesto seeks three key commitments to be contained within the Programme for Government when the 34th Dáil is elected, and a Government is formed. They are as follows:
- Increase investment in Health Research
- Make progress with legislative reform in areas such as the further development of National Research Ethics Committees and legislation for biobanks to help encourage medical research and advances.
- Include health research charities and wider civil society in national research decision making
To learn more about each of these key asks, visit the ‘HRCI’ website.
As a member of the HRCI, and as an organisation that has invested over €1.5 million in Irish Epilepsy Research, we fully support the calls made in the HRCI’s manifesto. In Ireland, we boast incredible epilepsy researchers and research institutions such as FutureNeuro. In order to learn more about epilepsy and other long-term health conditions which are impacting on people across our society, the state should provide an environment where research is supported and encouraged which will ultimately improve people’s lives.
To learn more about Epilepsy Ireland’s activities in epilepsy research, visit the Research section of our website.
We would also like to remind our members, supporters and volunteers to please complete our advocacy priorities survey. Every response will help shape our key asks of candidates for the next election and identify what we should be prioritising and campaigning for on behalf of people with epilepsy and their families.
You can complete the survey by visiting the ‘SurveyMonkey’ website.