Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has issued her annual policy direction to the health service. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins photosThe HSE must move away from the assumption that additional resources are always needed for the delivery of new initiatives, the Minister for Health has said. In her annual policy direction to the health service, she said she was mandating the new HSE regions to “shift care from hospitals into the community”. She also wants the HSE to tackle existing inconsistencies in the provision of health services between different regions. “Some Dublin hospitals are leading with strong access in certain areas but have significant outpatient backlogs, eg tens of thousands waiting for first outpatient appointments in the Dublin and North East Health Region and the Dublin and Midlands Health Region.

Source: The Irish Times December 23, 2025 21:45 UTC