Politician(s) lobbied: Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Minister), Department of Health; Colm Burke (Minister of State), Department of Health; Frank Feighan (Minister of State), Department of Health; John Lahart (TD), Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas; Professor Mary Horgan (Chief Medical Officer), Department of Health; Tracey Conroy (Assistant Secretary), Department of Health; Derek Tierney (Assistant Secretary), Department of Health
Intent: Raising policy priorities in both areas.
Methods: Phone callSubmissionEmail
Details by Method
Phone call
Brief to a Heart Failure Policy Network member who was due to speak with an Irish Minister regarding heart failure policy
Submission
Feedback on a post event brief on radioligand therapy.
Email
Invitation to a roundable event in Dublin on radioligand therapy in Ireland.
Politician(s) lobbied: Maria Walsh (MEP), European Parliament; Billy Kelleher (MEP), European Parliament; Barry Andrews (MEP), European Parliament; Seán Kelly (MEP), European Parliament; Nina Carberry (MEP), European Parliament
Intent: HPP acts as Secretariat for the HEART FAILURE POLICY NETWORK (HFPN) , a multidisciplinary group of experts from across Europe working with patients, health professionals and other stakeholders to lead significant policy changes that may improve the lives of people with heart failure (HF). The HFPN has ongoing and new relationships with several MEPs who donate their time for free to support (and act as Members of) the HFPN.
Methods: MeetingEmail
Details by Method
Meeting
Briefing meeting on HF Mission campaign held between MEP Walsh and the HFPN in the European Parliament (18 Nov 2026)
Email
Emailed to arrange briefing meeting to discuss HF Mission campaign
Politician(s) lobbied: Maria Walsh (MEP), European Parliament
Intent: The hosting of a roundtable event on Heart Failure in the European Parliament. The aim of the event would have been to discuss policy priorities in heart failure and advocate for their inclusion in the forthcoming EU Cardiovascular Health Plan.
Methods: Email
Details by Method
Email
Contacted (with follow-up correspondence) to request Maria Walsh MEP if she would consider hosting an EP roundtable on our behalf. Maria's team kindly liaised with us. However, unfortunately, due to Maria's schedule, the request was politely declined.
Politician(s) lobbied: Micheál Martin (Taoiseach), Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas; Billy Kelleher (MEP), European Parliament; Professor Mary Horgan (Chief Medical Officer), Department of Health; Rachel Kenna (Chief Nursing Officer), Department of Health; Seán Kelly (MEP), European Parliament; Maria Walsh (MEP), European Parliament; Barry Andrews (MEP), European Parliament; Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (MEP), European Parliament
Intent: Prioritisation of heart failure in the EU.::Advocating for effective lung cancer screening implementation.
Methods: Email
Details by Method
Email
An email to the Taoiseach, following up on outreach in 2024, congratulating him on the election result, thanking him for previous support and asking for continued support of the Heart Failure Network (HFPN)'s work. Billy Kelleher MEP was also copied into this email.
Email
Email invitation from the Lung Cancer Policy Network inviting MEPs from the 'MEPs against cancer' group to an event at the European Lung Cancer Conference (March 2025). No Irish officials attendend.
Email
The HFPN team requested meetings with the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer. Meeting resulted in a meeting with the cardiovascular policy unit within the Department of Health (to be covered under next period's return).
Politician(s) lobbied: Micheál Martin (Tánaiste and Minister), Department of Foreign Affairs; Billy Kelleher (MEP), European Parliament; Seán Kelly (MEP), European Parliament; Barry Cowen (MEP), European Parliament; Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (MEP), European Parliament; Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (MEP), European Parliament; Ciaran Mullooly (MEP), European Parliament; Nina Carberry (MEP), European Parliament; Regina Doherty (MEP), European Parliament; Maria Walsh (MEP), European Parliament; Barry Andrews (MEP), European Parliament
Intent: Heart Failure Policy Network's European Heart Failure Mission campaign to engage the Irish government to prioritise heart failure in their presidency of the EU in 2026.
Methods: Email
Details by Method
Email
Meeting requests to discuss the European Heart Failure Mission and EU Cardiovascular Health Plan, as well as Irelad’s potential role in improving heart failure care across Europe (no meetings have taken place).
Email
Michael Martin, TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence. (Emails to congratulate him on the election result and introduce the idea of prioritizing heart failure during EU presidency). We were notified one of these emails was forwarded to the Department of Health.
Politician(s) lobbied: Frances Fitzgerald (MEP), European Parliament
Intent: Asking a former MEP to remain as a herat failure policy champion
Methods: Email
Details by Method
Email
Following the European elections, we contacted Ms Fitzgerald’s office on 08.07.2024 to thank her for her service as an MEP in the European Parliament and ask if she would like to remain a policy champion for our European Heart Failure Mission as a ‘former MEP’. Her office confirmed.
Politician(s) lobbied: Barry Andrews (MEP), European Parliament
Intent: On 23.02.2024, received written response from the European Parliament to the question Mr Andrews had submitted to on 28.11.2023 on behalf of our European Heart Failure Mission. Contacted Mr Andrews’ office in thanks, seeking approval to use his photograph in our social media content.
Methods: Email
Details by Method
Email
On 23.02.2024, received written response from the European Parliament to the question Mr Andrews had submitted to on 28.11.2023 on behalf of our European Heart Failure Mission. Contacted Mr Andrews’ office in thanks, seeking approval to use his photograph in our social media content.
Politician(s) lobbied: Billy Kelleher (MEP), European Parliament; Seán Kelly (MEP), European Parliament; Maria Walsh (MEP), European Parliament; Frances Fitzgerald (MEP), European Parliament; Grace O'Sullivan (MEP), European Parliament; Barry Andrews (MEP), European Parliament; Micheál Martin (An Taoiseach), Department of the Taoiseach
Intent: The European Heart Failure Mission aims to secure political recognition and investment for heart failure from the European Union (EU). In October 2023, we launched our Mission Statement (a call to action to the EU) at an event at the European Parliament. This event, hosted by Billy Kelleher MEP and gathering together 50 members of the heart failure community from across Europe, kicked off a multi-year campaign to drive heart failure to the top of the political agenda.::Marking Lung Cancer Awareness Month (November) by bringing together a cross-section of voices to discuss priorities for accelerating improvements in survival from lung cancer in Europe through a webinar. The webinar drew on perspectives from across the care pathway, including clinicians, screening leads, and lung cancer advocates to discuss how recommendations at the EU level.
Methods: Event / ReceptionEmailMeeting
Details by Method
Event / Reception
Billy Kelleher MEP hosted the launch of European Heart Failure Mission on 25th October at European Parliament. Spoke at launch of European Heart Failure Mission on 25th October at European Parliament (opening welcome address, closing words). Became a policy champion for the HFPN European Heart Failure Mission.
Event / Reception
Fergal Donnelly, Principal Scientific Officer DG Research & Innovation spoke at launch of European Heart Failure Mission on 25th October at European Parliament (a reaction from the Commission).
Email
Maria Walsh MEP, Frances Fitzgerald MEP and Sean Kelly MEP were invited to the lung cancer webinar (did not attend).
Meeting
Maria Walsh MEP, Barry Andrews MEP, Katie Power (member of cabinet for Commissioner McGuiness), Grace O’Sullivan MEP, Frances Fitzgerald MEP met with HFPN European Heart Failure Mission delegates, or the HFPN team and/ or became a Policy Champion for the European Heart Failure Mission.
Event / Reception
Taoiseach Michéal Martin delivered recorded video message (keynote address) for the launch of European Heart Failure Mission on 25th October at European Parliament
Politician(s) lobbied: Micheál Martin (Tánaiste and Minister), Department of the Taoiseach; Billy Kelleher (MEP), European Parliament
Intent: Tanaiste Micheal Martin to act as a Patron (pro bono) to the Heart Failure Policy Network, a project run by the Health Policy Partnership (HPP).
Methods: Phone callEmail
Details by Method
Phone call
We held several calls and email exchanges with the office of Mr Kelleher MEP in the organisation of an event in the European Parliament, to be held on the 25th October, as part of the Heart Failure Policy Network. It should be clarified that all interactions with stakeholders and officials in Ireland on the part of HPP is without reimbursement nor any proposal for future reimbursement.
Email
We wrote to Tanaiste Micheal Martin with a request for him to act as a Patron (pro bono) to the Heart Failure Policy Network, a project run by HPP. This letter was passed to the office of Mr Billy Kelleher MEP, in support of the proposal, who forwarded it to relevant points of contact in Mr Martin’s office.
Politician(s) lobbied: Billy Kelleher (MEP), European Parliament
Intent: MEP hosting an event in the European Parliament to launch a campaign to ensure political recognition of heart failure at the EU level.
Methods: Meeting
Details by Method
Meeting
Donnacha Maguire, Billy Kellehrer office, 6Mar23. Heart Failure Policy Network (HFPN) team, Ed Harding & Kirsten Budig proposed an EP event to launch the European Heart Failure Mission campaign to ensure greater political recognition for heart failure at EU level. The office was, in principle, open to hosting, but the HFPN later decided against running the event in Jun/Jul. The team also presented the idea of writing to Micheal Martin, former Taoiseach of Ireland to be a patron to the HFPN.
