Press Release: Wednesday 14 May 2025
Minister for Health publishes The Path to Universal Healthcare – Sláintecare & Programme for Government 2025+ (Sláintecare 2025+)
Sláintecare 2025+ aims to forge the way towards accessible, affordable, high-quality, healthcare for the people of Ireland when they need it, where they need it.
Minister Carroll MacNeill stated:
“The government’s commitment to reform is unwavering. We want to ensure every patient receives the right quality care, in the right place, at the right time. We will continue to develop a universal health and social care service where people have access to services based on need, and not ability to pay.”
Improving access to healthcare services is a priority of Sláintecare 2025+ including driving down waiting times, workforce reform measures and expanding services in the community to see more people treated in their communities or closer to home.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“As Minister for Health, ensuring better access to healthcare in Ireland and reducing the time that patients are waiting for care is a priority. In the Programme for Government we committed to further reduce waiting times, targeting all patients to be seen within the Sláintecare targets of 10 and 12 weeks.”
Significant investment in healthcare infrastructure and workforce is being made to ensure the long-term demographic challenges and deficit in health and social care infrastructure Ireland faces are addressed.
Improving Service Quality is a critical Sláintecare priority across a number of service areas. Public Health, Prevention and Promotion will play a significant role in improving the overall health of the population, including through measures designed to promote healthy lifestyles, address mental health difficulties and reduce inequalities.
The new plan will focus on enabling reform measures critical to the successful delivery of Sláintecare. The digital health strategy will empower both workforce and patients to use new technologies such as the HSE’s new Health App. Realising the ambition set out in this strategy will not be possible without the ongoing and greatly valued expertise and dedication of the entire health and social care workforce.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“The full implementation of Sláintecare remains one of the most significant reform programmes ever implemented by the State. We are doing so against the backdrop of the greatest investment ever in healthcare in Ireland, the largest health and social care workforce, and against the challenge of an increasing and ageing population.
“The success of this action plan on our programmes of investment, capacity building, reform and productivity will be demonstrated by:
- Waiting times continuing to fall.
- The number of people on trolleys continuing to fall.
- The cost of healthcare for families decreasing.”
SC2025+ will bring a new patient focus to services that are both affordable and of the highest quality and where the patient is at the centre of all our collective efforts.
The Minister today also published the Sláintecare Implementation Progress Report 2024, noting the ongoing progress made in transforming our health and social care services to provide the Right Care, in the Right Place, at the Right Time.
There has been a significant reduction in the cumulative daily 8.00am trolley count over 2024, with numbers down 11% compared to 2023, despite an 8% increase in the number of patients presenting to Emergency Departments. The volume of weekend discharges (Friday – Sunday) from acute hospital beds increased by 15%* in 2024 compared to 2023, while total discharges increased by approximately 12%.
In relation to reforming and expanding care into the community, Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“The enhanced community care (ECC) programme is a transformative initiative under Sláintecare, shifting healthcare delivery from hospitals to community settings, ensuring patients receive tailored treatment closer to home. We are strengthening primary care, general practice and integrated community services, preventing unnecessary hospital referrals and admissions while enhancing patient outcomes. This is a key Sláintecare goal – getting the right care as close to home as possible.”
The six new HSE Health Regions commenced in March 2024 and the six Regional Executive Officers (REOs) are now fully accountable and responsible for the planning and delivery of integrated care for their respective populations.
2024 saw the publication of ‘Digital for Care 2030: A Digital Health Framework for Ireland 2024-2030’ setting out a vision that aims for better health outcomes enabled by seamless, safe, secure, and connected digital health services, which supports health and wellbeing for both our patients and providers.
*St Vincent’s and Wexford excluded from calculations