Increase capital health funding to improve our hospitals and tackle overcrowding;
Transform our Health Service
We believe everyone should have access to healthcare when needed, not months and years on a waiting list.
Read our Health Manifesto
Our mission is to deliver a health service where everyone can get the treatment they need, when they need it, where we manage chronic disease and support people through their treatment and recovery, where staff are valued and get to work in modern facilities with technology that helps them do their job better, and treat patients faster.
Our 4 Key Priorities for Health
- Invest in Primary and Community Care: Extend free GP care to all children and directly employ GPs through the HSE to address shortages.
- Value Healthcare Staff: Resolve the recruitment and retention crisis with a comprehensive workforce strategy, legislate for safe staffing and provide key worker housing.
- Use Technology to improve outcomes: ensure patients can get new drugs to cure diseases, and rollout digital health records.
- Build enough beds and buildings: to tackle overcrowding and improve our hospital conditions, at least 5,000 new beds needed by 2030.
How will we do this:
Free GP care for all children under 18
Ireland is the only country in Western Europe without universal access to GP care. Labour led the change in this critical area, introducing free GP care for under 6s ten years ago. We’ve campaigned to now extend GP care to all children under 18. We’ll also ensure that everyone who turns 18 receives a full medical health screening and mental health assessment.
Safe Staffing
We will pass the Patient Safety (Licensing) law for safe staffing ratios across the health service so that the right number of nurses and midwives are on duty. We will improve conditions for doctors, and all other healthcare workers and deliver key workers housing using vacant HSE properties.
Use Apple Tax windfall to reinvigorate ‘Sláintecare’
We’ll use the Apple Tax windfall to reinvigorate the agreed ‘Sláintecare’ plan – to deliver a universal healthcare system for all, based on need, not ability to pay. €500m over five years will be deployed to rollout digital health records, so that essential patient information is available instantly. This will increase patient safety and improve productivity, especially in our acute hospitals.
Disability Services
Labour will fully support and fund the Disability Services Action Plan. €170m was needed in the Budget to improve CDNTs, residential care, day services, Personal Assistant hours and respite care. We’ll fund a waiting list initiative for over 10,000 children waiting for an Assessments of Need.
Mental Health
We will support ‘Sharing The Vision’ the national mental health strategy and would have committed an additional €80m next year with a focus on reducing CAMHS waiting lists, perinatal mental health and improving national clinical programmes for eating disorders, ADHD, dual diagnosis and psychosis to build up teams and develop the right model of care.