New Health Innovation Hub Ireland Launched

Minister for Health Simon Harris has officially launched Health Innovation Hub Ireland, a key element of the Action Plan for Jobs 2016 and the Programme for Government.

The Hub is hosted by University College Cork in partnership with Cork Institute of Technology, the National University of Ireland Galway & Trinity College Dublin and supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland, and the Department of Health through the HSE.

At the launch event, Minister Harris said: "I am delighted to be launching Health Innovation Hub Ireland today, and to announce its first calls for innovative concepts and ideas in the healthcare field.

"This project is important because it will foster a unique partnership between the health service and the enterprise sector, with the aim of improving patient outcomes. I am especially pleased that one of these calls focuses specifically on improving care for older people in the health service.

"The innovative ideas will not only come from enterprise – I am pleased to say they will also emerge from within the health service, and I want to encourage people working in healthcare to take part and make proposals.

"Health Innovation Hub Ireland has huge potential for improving healthcare and outcomes for patients, as well as for Ireland's health tech sector. I am confident the development of the Hub will be successful and that it will, ultimately, greatly benefit patient care."

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O'Connor TD, added: "This exciting initiative allows for mutually beneficial interaction between industry and the health system. This is a win-win scenario.

"The health service needs products to meet its particular needs, and enterprise needs guidance from users on their developing products, and test-beds for their trials.

"We have combined exports from our lifesciences and ICT sectors of over €140 billion annually and the strengths of our enterprise base can be leveraged to deliver much needed innovation into our health system and at the same time sustain and create more jobs in these sectors."

(MH/JP)