A Public Health, Ethics and Law Research Network

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Health is one of the key policy sectors likely to be affected by Brexit, with any change in the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union likely to have a significant impact on cross-border health provision on the island of Ireland. What these developments might mean in terms of such provision has now been made more complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Governmental responses to the legal, policy and ethical issues raised by the pandemic have varied within the four nations of the UK, and between the UK and Ireland. Despite COVID-19 not recognising geographical borders, longstanding North-South tensions have also contributed to different responses to managing the risks posed by the pandemic on the island of Ireland. Against this background, the COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique opportunity to re-think how we should understand the relationship between public health, ethics and law in the UK and Ireland, informed by a range of academic and public health practitioner perspectives. The project will bring together these differing perspectives to gain a better understanding of this relationship and establish a new public health ethics and law research network (PEHL) in the UK and Ireland. It has the support of the Faculty of Public Health which represents public health professionals in both countries. PEHL will contribute to the development of a cross-disciplinary research-stakeholder agenda in public health, ethics and law with a view to developing future collaborations by those involved in the network.