Frequently Asked Questions

Who runs the Irish Health Research Forum?

The Irish Health Research Forum is run by Health Research Charities Ireland. HRCI is a registered charity, founded in 1998.

In 2014, HRCI commissioned a report on the health research landscape in Ireland, which made a number of insightful recommendations, including an overarching recommendation to establish an Irish Health Research Forum – a mechanism to provide a single Irish voice for research to improve health.

As an independent organisation, representing 45+ charities and with a strong patient-focus, HRCI is ideally placed to bring people together to tackle the big issues in health research and to bring about change. We are supported in all Irish Health Research Forum activities by an exceptional and diverse Steering Group of leaders. Click here for more information

Who funds the Irish Health Research Forum?

HRCI funds the Irish Health Research Forum through a combination of charity funds and proceeds from ticket sales. Attendees working in the Public, Private and non profit sectors are charged for tickets, with complimentary spaces available for HRCI member representatives, PPI Contibutors, panellists and speakers.

What is the purpose of the Irish Health Research Forum?

The Irish Health Research Forum considers key health research issues at two events every year and produces widely used reports and recommendations. The events are constructive and inclusive, with benefit to patients and the public being at the heart of all activities. Previous events have focussed on Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in research, biobanking, research ethics, maximising societal benefit from health research, embedding research in the Irish health service, how health research can be responsive and resilient in the face of crises, advancing genomics research, working across health services & academia, data protection and the Health Research Regulations, GDPR and health research, health research priorities, how legislation can facilitate health research, prioritising research questions for policy, practice and services and more.

Who decides what the theme for each Irish Health Research Forum will be?

The Irish Health Research Forum Steering Group includes representatives from the HSE, Department of Health, HRB, Cancer Trials Ireland, National Clinical Trials Office, National Research Ethics Committee Office, Irish Research Nurses & Midwives, Research Ireland, National PPI Ignite Network, Enterprise Ireland, HRCI members and patient and public representatives.

The Steering Group meets 4 times per year to agree on topics for the Irish Health Research Forum events, share knowledge and listen to feedback from previous events. Steering Group members work with HRCI to determine themes for events and decide on who should be invited to speak and sit on panels. They assist in moderating discussion tables at events and assist in forming the recommendations which come from the Forum events.

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Where does the Irish Health Research Forum take place? How do I get there?
In November 2026, we will be hosting the Irish Health Research Forum in the Liffey Suite of the Ashling Hotel, 10 – 13 Parkgate St, Stoneybatter, Dublin 8, D08 P38N
You can find a virtual tour of the hotel here– please select the Liffey Suite. There are bathrooms located on the right hand side of the room. The registration desk will be located inside the door on the right hand side. There will be two coat racks available and refreshments will be served during registration and mid morning.
The closest Luas stop is the Red Line stop at Heuston.
There is a small car park on site- the hourly rate for non-residents is €4.00 per hour.
Heuston station is a 3 minute walk from the hotel and also has a public car park.

Who is invited to attend the Irish Health Research Forum?

We extend invitations for each Forum to all stakeholders working in health research in Ireland. This includes SFI, HRB, the Department of Health, the PPI Ignite offices, public servants, university research offices, consultants, patient and public representatives, researchers, charity representatives, our own members and of course, the members of the Forum Steering Group.
We have a strong mailing list of over 1700 people which we use to send invitations and reports from the events. We also share the event widely on Twitter, via our newsletter and encourage colleagues to share with their networks. If you would like to receive invitations to the Forum events, updates on the work of HRCI, our publications and Forum reports, please join our mailing list.

Is it possible to access the Irish Health Research Forum remotely?

Due to the discussion-based nature of the events, a hybrid option is not possible. The HRCI team is very small and we don’t have the capacity or funds to simultaneously host an in person and online event. However, we endeavour to record the talks and share them afterwards. We also produce a report from each event and disseminate widely to our mailing lists, policy makers, political representatives and members. We live tweet from the event using the #HealthResearchMatters and encourage those in the room to also use this hashtag.

Why is the Irish Health Research Forum always a half day event?

Attendees often provide feedback asking why the event did not run for a full day. Unfortunately, we have tried running full day events and have seen a large drop off in attendees after lunch. Because the Irish Health Research Forum is aimed at high level participants, attendees are often pressed for time and cannot commit to a full day. HRCI and the Forum Steering Group endeavour to include as many perspectives as possible at the half day events and occasionally host 2 events on the same theme to ensure it is well covered.

I didn’t get to ask a question/ make a comment at the Forum - how can I pass it on?

Where can I find more information?

You can find further information on the Irish Health Research Forum here
If you would like to be kept up to date on the work of Health Research Charities Ireland and receive invitations and reports from the Irish Health Research Forum, please join our mailing list.
If you have a query that has not been answered here, please contact Linda@hrci.ie