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Policy issues concerning Health

Health for Everyone?

25th November 2019

People should be assured of the required treatment and care in their times of illness or vulnerability.  Yet in Ireland the healthcare system still struggles to provide an adequate service to everyone, and despite recent increases in resourcing we still have very high levels of unmet care needs.  

Government Spending Review points to the need for increase investment in Home Care

16th September 2019

The Government recently published the 2019 Spending Review of Carer’s Supports.  The findings of this review point to a need to increase investment in community care, and home help and to provide a statutory entitlement to Home Care Packages if we are to meet potential future demand.

Budget 2020 must begin to address serious deficits in healthcare

9th August 2019

Healthcare services are fundamental to wellbeing - important in themselves and important to economic success in a range of ways, including improving work participation and productivity. Securing healthcare services and infrastructure is a key policy area that must be addressed urgently as part of Budget 2020.

Housing, the environment and difficulty in making ends meet are key issues in Ireland and across the EU

1st April 2019

Among the key findings from the National Social Monitor - European Edition are that quality of housing, the burden of housing costs, financial distress, difficulty in making ends meet and the environment are key issues in Ireland and across the European Union.  As we face into European Elections in May these issues are certain to feature strongly.

Providing good mental health services is a necessary investment in the future

11th March 2019

Providing good mental health services is a necessary investment in the future wellbeing of the country.  Research and development in all areas of mental health are needed to ensure a quality service is delivered.

Time to create a statutory basis for Home Care

6th March 2019

Support for people to remain in their own homes is a key and appropriate policy objective and coincides with the wishes of most older people. A key component of this is a statutory basis for home care packages.

Costs of ‘reprofiling’ capital funds become clear

15th February 2019


The estimated cost of the overrun of the budget for the National Children’s Hospital currently stands at €450m.  Details have emerged of where the €99m to cover the cost of the National Children’s Hospital overrun in Budget 2019 will come from.   This will have an impact across a number of Departments and projects in 2019 and comes with a social and economic cost as well as a political one.  Government has yet to identify where the remainder of the €350m to cover the cost overrun will come from.  This information should be made available to the Oireachtas as soon as possible.

The real cost of ‘reprofiling’ capital funds

28th January 2019

The cost of the new National Children’s Hospital which has almost doubled in four years will have significant knock on effects on the rest of the health service. Who is ultimately going to pay for the cost overruns?

Government policy failing to tackle causes - National Social Monitor Winter Edition

3rd December 2018

700,000 on healthcare waiting lists, 500,000 homes without broadband, over 11,000 people homeless – a result of Government policy failing to tackle causes - Social Justice Ireland publishes National Social Monitor Winter 2018.

10,000 homeless (including 3,600 children), 87,000 households on waiting lists – Government policy is a dramatic failure

4th September 2018

The Government has failed to respond adequately to our nation’s housing crisis. There are almost 87,000 households on social housing waiting lists - over half of whom are families - and 10,000 homeless, of whom 3,600 are children. This is a national emergency. The impact of homelessness and precarious housing on our nation’s children will be felt for generations to come.

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