Dialogue Forum with Voluntary Organisations
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 17 January 2020
- Last updated on: 28 February 2025
- About the Forum
- Membership
- Terms of Reference
- Key Forum Documents
- Minutes and Agendas 2019
- Minutes and Agendas 2020
- Minutes and Agendas 2021
- Minutes and Agendas 2022
- Minutes and Agendas 2023
- Minutes and Agendas 2024
- Minutes and Agendas 2025
About the Forum
The Report of the Independent Review Group (IRG) established to examine the role of voluntary organisations in publicly funded health and personal social services was published in February 2019. A key finding in the Report is the need to improve the relationship between voluntary organisations and the State. At the time of publication of the Report, Minister Harris announced his intention to establish a new Dialogue Forum. The first meeting of this new Forum took place on 2 December 2019.
The aim of the Forum is to build a stronger working relationship between the State and the voluntary healthcare sector for the benefit of patients and service users and to facilitate regular dialogue with the voluntary sector on future policy and strategic developments.
The Forum is chaired by independent Chair Peter Cassells.
Membership
The following organisations are represented on the Forum:
- Department of Health
- Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
- HSE
- HIQA
- Mental Health Commission
- The Wheel
- Mental Health Reform
- Disability Federation of Ireland
- National Federation of Voluntary Service Providers
- National Disability Services Association
- Irish Voluntary Healthcare Association
- Voluntary Hospices Group
- National Community Care Network
Full membership list
Terms of Reference
Key Forum Documents
Minutes and Agendas 2019
Meeting 1: 2 December 2019
Minutes and Agendas 2020
Meeting 2: 24 January 2020
Minutes and Agendas 2021
Meeting 3: 28 May 2021
Meeting 4: 25 June 2021
The Dialogue Forum hosted a Webinar with Dr Damian Thomas of NESC on the NESC Secretariat paper Building a New Relationship between Voluntary Organisations and the State in the Health and Social Care Sectors: Paper for the Dialogue Forum with Voluntary Organisations.
The NESC Secretariat paper is available here.
A recording of the Webinar is available to view here
Meeting 5: 7 July 2021
A Workshop took place at the July Dialogue Forum meeting. Please find the Workshop output pack attached below.
Meeting 6: 30 September 2021
Meeting 7: 28 October 2021
Meeting 8: 25 November 2021
Minutes and Agendas 2022
Meeting 9: 7 February 2022
Meeting 10: 4 April 2022
Meeting 11: 13 June 2022
Meeting 12: 12 September 2022
Meeting 13: 7 November 2022
Minutes and Agendas 2023
Meeting 14: 13 February 2023
Meeting 15: 27 March 2023
Meeting 16: 3 April 2023
On Monday 3 April 2023, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, was joined by HSE CEO Bernard Gloster and colleagues from Voluntary Organisations at a Dialogue Forum event to launch the Partnership Principles. The Dialogue Forum with Voluntary Organisations was established in late 2019 with the aim of building a stronger, more collaborative, working relationship between the State and voluntary providers (S38/39) in the health and social care sector for the benefit of the people using our health services. Members of the Forum include the Department of Health, HIQA, Mental Health Commission and eight voluntary representative organisations. To facilitate regular and structured dialogue between these entities, the Forum has engaged in several activities, including the collaborative development of the Partnership Principles, which were officially launched during the event. The Partnership Principles serves as a foundation for strengthening the relationship between the State and voluntary organisations. The Principles emphasise the need to place the person at the centre of our partnership and to work on the basis of trust and mutual respect so that coherent planning and good decisions are informed by engagement and participation - harnessing the strengths of both the statutory and voluntary sectors for the benefit of the people using our services. The event was positive and future looking as the Principles were warmly welcomed by all and as representatives from both the State and voluntary sectors committed to making them a reality.