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Since its establishment in 2020, the National Office for Research Ethics Committees, has been pivotal in reforming Ireland’s research ethics system for regulated research, becoming a crucial enabling pillar of the Irish health research landscape. Here, its Head of Office Dr Emily Vereker reflects on the significant growth and achievements of the National Office over […]

    When Aileen Sheehy started work at the National Office for Research Ethics Committees, she looked forward to getting her feet under this new desk. Her plan was to spend the first weeks getting to grips with the complexities and nuances of ethics in health research and clinical trials. But that’s not what happened.

According to an old proverb, children should be seen and not heard. Thankfully the world has mostly moved on from that cruel norm. But in paediatric clinical research, how can we ensure that young patients and their guardians are both seen and heard? The ethics and complexities of including children in clinical research run deep,

Professor Andrew Green Consultant in Medical Genetics, Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin and Temple Street, Professor of Medical Genetics, University College Dublin and Principal Investigator, Conway Institute University College Dublin, Dublin Can a sample of a person’s DNA ever be truly anonymous? When someone gets a genetic result about a disease or lifelong condition, how

  As many as nine in every 10 pregnant women take some form of medication. For some it’s a straightforward, over-the-counter pain-reliever or digestive calmer, while others need medicine to manage an underlying medical condition or to minimise a current risk. Yet all too often, we don’t know what the safest and most effective dose

Here at the National Office, our role is to support innovative health research while ensuring the safety, dignity and well-being of research participants are safeguarded – and we do that by contributing to the system that ensures research ethics is an integral part of how health research is carried out in Ireland.   But what exactly