Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Where can I get more information, copies of reports etc?

  • To find out the latest news and developments regarding the Health Service Reform Programme visit the News and Milestones areas of this site.
  • PDF copies of the Brennan, Prospectus and Hanly and other reports are available in the Reports section of this site.
  • Visit the Legislation section of this site for information regarding legislation underpinning the Heath Service Reform Programme.
  • Access the Health Service Reform Programme presentation.
  • Visit the Health Service Executive website for more information.
  • Contact Us with your questions or comments.

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What are the main elements of organisational reform?

The main elements are:

  • Streamlining and consolidation of a number of agencies (including health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority).
  • Establishing a Health Service Executive incorporating a National Hospitals Office, a Primary Community and Continuing Care Directorate and National Shared Services Centre.
  • Restructuring the Department of Health and Children.
  • Establishing the Health Information & Quality Authority.

What agencies are being streamlined as part of the Reform Programme?

The Reform Programme involves subsuming a number of agencies into the Health Service Executive, the Health Information & Quality Authority or the restructured Department of Health and Children.

In addition to merging all regional health authorities into a unitary national structure, the HSE, the following agencies were subsumed into this new body: the Health Service Employers Agency, the Health Boards Executive, the Office for Health Management, Comhairle na nOispidéal, the General Medical Services (Payments) Board, the National Disease Surveillance Centre and the Hospital Bodies Administration Bureau.

The Irish Health Services Accreditation Board and the National Cancer Registry will be streamlined into the HIQA following its establishment.

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How will the Reform Programme improve the organisation and delivery of services?

  • The new structures provide a national focus on service delivery and executive management of the health system;
  • By reducing fragmentation and duplication of effort the system will become more manageable and efficient;
  • It will also facilitate far greater consistency between the level and types of services provided in different parts of the country, and facilitate the alignment of responsibility and accountability throughout the system.
  • In addition, the establishment of the HIQA will advance the aims of delivering high quality services that are based on evidence-based best practice and expanding the potential of information and technology.

How was the Reform Programme planned?

The Health Service Reform Programme consists of a series of inter-related projects and activities which needed to be planned and managed in an integrated way. To help manage the programme a high level plan was drafted which charted the various aspects of the Reform Programme and divided the implementation into a number of manageable phases.

These included a concept development phase in which the Government decisions were mapped-out to address key elements in more detail. A number of Action Projects were subsequently established to advance implementation of the Reform Programme. The Composite Report on Health Service Reform Programme set out the various elements of this work which included recommendations for systems and business processes, the design of structures and the required steps.

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