Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly has appointed the membership of Ireland’s first National Research Ethics Committees (NRECs) in the areas of Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (NREC-CT) and Clinical Investigations of Medical Devices (NREC-MD).

Insight’s Professor Barry O’Sullivan has been appointed as chairperson of the Medical Devices Committee. These Committees will be responsible for reviewing the ethics underpinning research proposals in these important areas of health research, with the aim of providing single national ethics opinions that are respected nationally. As such, the NRECs will play a key role in protecting the safety, dignity and well-being of health research participants in Ireland.

In total, 18 members have been appointed to each of the three NRECs – two in clinical trials and one in medical devices. The members appointed represent a diverse range of professional backgrounds and life experience, reflecting the importance of having national decisions on the ethics underpinning health research informed by the full range of skills, experience and perspectives reflective of Irish society. You can read more about the NRECs here.