The Irish Programme for Government of March 2011 commits “to developing a universal, single-tier health service, which guarantees access to medical care based on need, not income.” (Government of Ireland, 2011: 37). This is the first commitment in the history of the Irish Republic to introduce universal health care and ties in to a renewed international effort to achieve the same. The WHO 2013 World Health Report reiterated the 2012 UN resolution and the 2005 commitment by all WHO member states to achieve universal health coverage [UHC] (WHO, 2013). According to the WHO and UN, UHC achieves better health outcomes for individuals and whole populations because accessing services is not inhibited by cost.
This research project aims to provide an excellent evidence base that will inform strategic direction and implementation of universal health care in Ireland. The research will consist of three components:
1) Assessing the gap between current Irish health system performance and universal health care, using and adapting WHO concepts.
2) Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different models of universal health care and assessing their feasibility of implementation within the current context according to key criteria such as affordability, human resources and complexity of design.
3) Assessing the organisational challenges of moving to universal health care by reviewing the experience of other countries and exploring the current capacity and constraints facing decision makers throughout the system.
The project is a collaboration between the Centre for Health Policy and Management, TCD and staff from the Health Systems Strengthening Offices of WHO Europe and the European Observatory and will build on previous high profile and successful collaborations. It will produce high quality evidence to inform policy advice, peer-reviewed research findings, policy briefs, workshops/conferences, international and local presentations, and regular on-line briefs and up-dates of key performance indicators.
