Health Procurement: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Seán Kyne (FG), Cultural and Educational Panel

I thank the Minister for being here, but also for her enthusiasm, interest and excitement in relation to genomics and genetic testing, and for the updates she has given on the national genomic processing units opening on 16 February, and the national genomics medical centre. These are positives in this whole area and the Minister quite rightly outlined the possibilities of AI doing a better job than a human being. While we do not want that in every area, perhaps, it is certainly exciting in medicine and diagnostics. The possibilities are certainly welcome.
The Minister also highlighted the importance of protecting our GDPR standards and the existing domestic excellence and self-sufficiency that we have. She talked about the importance of the State owning our own data.
In response to Senator Higgins's points, quality is important, which goes without saying. Any accredited laboratories have that quality in-built, which is important. As I said, the Minister has laid down this important area, the progress that has been made, and the objectives, vision, energy and enthusiasm that she has for this area. There is great excitement about what is happening and what can happen. She referred to the Lambe Institute. I was there with her. It does excellent work. In her response that day, she certainly showed the importance of research and development in all areas of science and medicine, and the great work that Professor Kerin and others on the team do, with enthusiastic students and others working in that area.
I thank the Minister for being here and for her support for this motion.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29