The Department of Health is a department

Department of State (Ireland)

A Department of State of Ireland, is a department or ministry of the Government of Ireland. The head of such a department is a Minister of the Government , often called a 'cabinet minister' or 'government minister' which should not be confused with Minister of State which is a junior non-cabinet...

 of the Government of Ireland. The Department's mission is to "support, protect and empower individuals, families and their communities to achieve their full health potential by putting health at the centre of public policy and by leading the development of high quality, equitable and efficient health and personal social services." The Department is led by the Minister for Health who is assisted by two Ministers of State

Minister of State (Ireland)

A Minister of State in Ireland is of non-Cabinet rank, attached to one or more Departments of State of the Government of Ireland....

.

The department attracts much controversy particularly due to the HSE

Health Service Executive

The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...

. Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...

, the former Taoiseach

Taoiseach

The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 referred to it as "Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

" clarifying "just when you've cleared one land mine

Land mine

A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

 another goes off".

Departmental team

The official headquarters and Ministerial offices of the Department of Health and Children are in Hawkins House, Hawkins Street, Dublin 2. The Departmental team consists of the following:

• Minister for Health: James Reilly, TD
  Teachta Dála
  A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
  
  
  • Minister of State for Primary Care: Róisín Shortall
    Róisín Shortall
    Róisín Shortall is an Irish Labour Party politician. She has been a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North West constituency since November 1992, and is the current Minister of State for Primary Care....
    
    , TD
  • Minister of State for Disability, Equality and Mental Health: Kathleen Lynch, TD
• Secretary General of the Department: Michael Scanlan

History

The Department of Health was created in 1947 with James Ryan as the first Minister. Prior to this the Department for Local Government and Public Health looked after Health issues. Over the years the Department's name has changed several times, however, the role of the Department has remained the same. The Department has been known as the following:

• Department of Health (1947–1997)
• Department of Health and Children (1997–2011)
• Department of Health (2011–present)

Structure

The role of the Department and Departmental team is to support the Minister and the democratic process by:

• Formulating policy underpinned by an evidence-based approach and providing direction on national health priorities ensuring that quality and value for money are enhanced through the implementation of an evidence-based approach underpinned by monitoring and evaluation.
• Protecting the interests of patients and consumers and supporting practitioners and professionals to practice to the highest standards by providing a prudent and appropriate regulatory framework.
• Providing effective stewardship over health resources by demanding accountability for achieving outcomes including financial, managerial and clinical accountability, and by providing the frameworks, including enhanced service planning at national level to improve the overall governance of the health system.
• Fulfilling the state's obligations in relation to the EU, WHO
  Who
  Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
  
  , Council of Europe
  Council of Europe
  The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
  
   and other international bodies and the continued implementation of the co-operation agenda decided by the North-South Ministerial Council.

See also

• Health Information and Quality Authority
  Health Information and Quality Authority
  The Health Information and Quality Authority is an independent, government-funded agency in the Republic of Ireland which monitors the safety and quality of the Irish healthcare system...
  
  
• Healthcare in the Republic of Ireland

External links

• Department of Health