A new programme is set to monitor people's poo to detect COVID-19 levels in the community.
A national wastewater monitoring programme has been set up and is due to get underway in early May.
Specialists will measure for the presence of COVID-19 in wasterwater from 68 catchment areas across the country.
The system has been used in other countries such as Singapore and Israel to efficiently track the prevalence of the virus in local areas.
The programme won't cover all of Ireland's 1,100 catchment areas.
It will instead focus on specifically chosen areas that cover every county to "capture as broadly as possible the position across the country".
Scientists say the system can work as an "early warning system" for any future waves of the virus.
The HPSC's Dr John Cuddiy said: "Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater captures both symptomatic and asymptomatic people.
"As such, it helps evaluate how effective specific public health measures are, and can be an important early warning sign of increasing SARS-CoV-2 activity in the community.
"It can also help inform those locations in which increased and enhanced SARS-CoV-2 testing and preventative measures might be of benefit.”
Findings of the testing will be shared with the likes of the HSE and NPHET, as well as being posted publicly on the HPSC's website at regular intervals.
