National Immunisation Advisory Committee

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) is Ireland’s National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NITAG). NIAC provides independent evidence-based recommendations and advice to the Minister for Health on immunisation and related health matters to inform health policy in Ireland.

First established in 1998, NIAC has been hosted by HIQA as a statutory function under Section 8(1)(g) of the Health Act 2007 (as amended) since 31 March 2025.

The NIAC Secretariat team, sited within our Health Technology Assessment Directorate provides clinical, evidence synthesis, and administrative support to NIAC.

NIAC Members and Roles

NIAC membership is voluntary, and includes people with broad expertise in areas including but not limited to, immunisation, public health, infectious diseases, and ethics. There are two lay members.

Appointments and durations of membership are outlined in NIAC’s Standard Operating Procedures.

Chair	Dr Edina Moylett, Consultant Paediatrician
Deputy Chair	Dr Kevin Kelleher, Honorary Treasurer, RCPI Faculty of Public Health Medicine
Voting members Nominating Organisation	Nominee
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI)	Dr Bridget Freyne, Consultant in Infectious Diseases
Faculty of Occupational Medicine, RCPI	Dr Sujil Jacob, Specialist Occupational Health Physician
Faculty of Paediatrics, RCPI	Dr Juliette Lucey, Consultant Paediatrician
Faculty of Pathology, RCPI	Dr Patrick Stapleton, Consultant Microbiologist
Faculty of Public Health Medicine, RCPI	Dr Mary Ward, Director of Public Health
Institute of Medicine, RCPI	Professor Corinna Sadlier, Consultant in Infectious Diseases
Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, RCPI	Dr Cliona Murphy, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC)	Dr Lisa Domegan, Principal Epidemiologist Alternate: Dr Michael Carton, Principal Epidemiologist
Infectious Diseases Society of Ireland (IDSI)	Dr Ruth O'Riordan, Consultant in Infectious Diseases Alternate: Dr Cathal O’Broin, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine
Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP)	Dr Patrick Kelly, General Practitioner Alternate: Dr Scott Walkin, General Practitioner
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland	Dr Karn Cliffe, Director of Nursing & Midwifery - Research, Practice Standards, Quality
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)	Professor Brian Cleary, Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences Alternate: Dr Michelle Flood, Associate Professor and MPharm Deputy Director
Travel Medicine Society of Ireland	Dr Astrid Weidenhammer, Travel Health Clinic
National Virus Reference Laboratory (NVRL)	Dr Cillian De Gascun, Director Alternate: Dr Daniel Hare, Deputy Director
Ethics expertise	Professor Barry Lyons, Consultant Anaesthetist and Lecturer in Medical Ethics
Clinical pharmacy expertise	Nomination pending
Gerontology expertise	Dr Aoife Fallon, Consultant in Geriatric and General Internal Medicine
Inclusion health expertise	Nomination pending
Lay public member	Professor Alan Baird, UCD Full Professor of Veterinary Physiology and Biology

Non-Voting Members
Observers
Department of Health	Professor Ellen Crushell, Deputy Chief Medical Officer
Health Service Executive	Dr Áine McNamara, Area Director of Public Health, HSE West and North West
Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA)	Dr Niamh Ennis, Medical Officer Alternates: Dr Ronan Donelan, Policy and Stakeholder Lead, and Dr Finnuala Lonsdale, Director of Human Product Authorisation and Registration
National Immunisation Office	Dr Lucy Jessop, Director of Public Health Alternate: Dr Chantal Migone, Specialist in Public Health Medicine

Medical Secretary	Dr Áine Varley (Public Health Medicine)

Trainee Review Group	Dr Aileen Conway (Infectious diseases) Dr Deirdre Foley (Paediatrics) Dr Oisin Hennigan (Paediatrics) Dr Fiona McGuire (Public Health) Dr Karen McCarthy (Paediatrics) Dr Michael Hanrahan (Public Health Medicine) Dr Muireann de Paor (Public Health Medicine) Dr Ellen Walsh (Infectious diseases) Dr Laura Mannion (Paediatrics)

NIAC Secretariat:
Clinical Lead:	Dr Sarah Geoghegan
Special Advisor:	Dr Fiona Cullinane
Special Advisor:	Dr Helena Murray
Senior HTA Analyst:	Dr Bryony Treston
Senior HTA Analyst:	Dr Gillian Walsh
Senior HTA Analyst:	Dr Valerie Power
Senior Programme Manager:	Dr Melissa Jones
Programme Coordinator:	Ms Trish Clarke

NIAC Working Groups:

Where a specific topic requires additional expertise and or focused attention beyond the usual scope of Committee meetings, a Working Group may be established by the NIAC Chair. Working Groups are responsible for collection, analysis, and preparation of information for presentation to the Committee to support informed deliberations and decision making, as determined by the NIAC Chair.

Please see a list of working groups here.

NIAC Terms of Reference

The terms of reference of NIAC are to:

provide independent expert evidence-based recommendations and advice to the Minister for Health on immunisation and related health matters in the Irish context
develop, update and disseminate the Immunisation Guidelines for Ireland
respond to queries from healthcare professionals and the Department of Health on matters related to immunisation
undertake horizon scanning and monitor global developments in the field of immunisation for the prevention of infection and or disease
advocate for best immunisation practices in Ireland.

NIAC is not a policy maker and has no regulatory function.

Information on NIAC’s governance, responsibilities and operations can be found in its Terms of Reference and Standard Operating Procedures.

Links to external resources

National Immunisation Office
The National Immunisation Office provides trusted, up-to-date information about HSE immunisation programmes for children, adults and healthcare professionals in Ireland.
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) provides useful information on vaccines and immunisation.
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) provides extensive information and resources on vaccines and immunisation.

Meetings

NIAC meets at least every two months to discuss the latest evidence and issues in immunisation. More frequent meetings take place as required.

Summaries of meetings that took place prior to 31 March 2025 are available on request.

Who we are

What we do

General Resources