Election 2024: Your checklist for the political parties' health priorities
This has become a real problem in many areas from the northside of Cork City to rural Clare and Tipperary.
Labour would expand GP training places by 20 annually. Fianna Fáil would continue the expansion of GP training places adding 1,500 over a five-year term.
Fine Gael would target supports at new doctors especially in rural areas and increase training places by 80%.
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There is talk — including from Sinn Féin, Labour, and Fine Gael — of salaried GPs working directly for the HSE in parallel with the self-employed GP system we have already. It is not clear yet how many GPs would line up for that.
University Hospital Limerick has become the face of overcrowding for this Government, but patients at other sites including Cork University Hospital, Mayo University Hospital, and Galway University Hospital also face struggles.
In the Mid-West, the Social Democrats, Labour, Fianna Fáil, and Fine Gael pledged to support recommendations from the Hiqa review of health services. Sinn Féin said they would task Hiqa to recommend a location for a second emergency department.
Cork and Galway will see new elective hospitals under plans already underway, with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil committing further to these. No sign in any manifesto of similar funding for the Mid-West however.
Staffing is a huge issue here and the policies reflect a growing awareness that affected families have votes.
The Social Democrats would bring in a cross-departmental workforce planning strategy including for children’s disability network teams and personal assistant services.
The Green Party would set up disability information and support centres. They would be a one-stop-shop for people with disabilities to link in with public services.
Fine Gael would recruit more therapists. They promised to put the autism innovation strategy on a statutory footing. However, parents already struggling with assessment of needs — which was also legislated for — will likely wait to see how that pans out.
Labour would fund a waiting list initiative to provide assessment of needs for children waiting longest and Sinn Féin committed to funding intellectual disability teams for children’s mental health services.
Fianna Fáil would increase investment in adult day services and allow people with disabilities to work more hours without risking social protection payments.
Promises on free GP care started appearing over 10 years ago but so far only children under eight and some adults including over-70s have seen that.
Labour would allocate €70m to extend this to all children under 18.
Fianna Fáil would take this to 12, Fine Gael to 18. Also, the Social Democrats would continue the phased roll-out and the Green Party would expand this to 10-year-olds.
Fine Gael will reduce the monthly cost of prescription drugs to €50 and abolish prescription charges, as would Labour.
Changes in medical card thresholds are also promised by various parties including Sinn Féin — this might garner more interest than the changing income thresholds for GP visit cards has done.
Under Fine Gael, free contraception — currently available to women up to 35 years old — would extend to all over 35s. The Social Democrats would also extend this age bracket.
Some of the largest unions including the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation are balloting for industrial action — gearing up for battle with the HSE and whoever sits in the health department on staffing.
All parties pledged to increase the numbers of staff ranging from therapists to hospital consultants.
It is not clear from any of the manifestos yet how this squares with the constant financial pressure being put on the HSE to stop recruiting.
All parties pledged greater support for cancer care.
Sinn Féin promised an “all-Ireland national health system that learns from the best and worst in both jurisdictions and across Europe”.
Fianna Fáil committed to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children.
The Green Party would bring in a non-means-tested basic income for all carers in the first two years of term.
The Social Democrats will only join a coalition which pledges to appoint a full cabinet disability minister.
Labour would convert vacant HSE properties into staff accommodation.
Fine Gael would develop a national dementia registry to map services in a move towards equity nationally.
