Healthy Ireland Policies
- Published on: 4 April 2019
- Last updated on: 3 April 2025
- Strategic Action Plan
- Healthy Ireland Framework
- Healthy Workplace Framework
- Healthy Campus Framework
- Physical activity
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Sexual health
- Skin cancer
- Vitamin D
- Folic Acid
- Nutrition Guidelines for Food Parcels
- The Healthy Ireland Survey
- Healthy Ireland Outcomes Framework
- Mental Health Promotion Plan
- Sláintecare Healthy Communities
- Period Poverty
Strategic Action Plan
The Healthy Ireland Strategic Action Plan 2021-2025 provides a clear roadmap of how we can continue to work together to bring about good health, access to services, healthy environments, and the promotion of resilience and to ensure that everyone can enjoy physical and mental, health and wellbeing, to their full potential.
Healthy Ireland Framework
The Healthy Ireland Framework was launched in 2013 and articulates four central goals for improved health and wellbeing:
- increase the proportion of people who are healthy at all stages of life
- reduce health inequalities
- protect the public from threats to health and wellbeing
- create an environment where every individual and sector of society can play their part in achieving a healthy Ireland
Healthy Workplace Framework
The Healthy Workplace Framework aims to support the growth of effective approaches to enhance health and wellbeing in the workplace.
This Framework is a key milestone for workplace wellbeing in Ireland and will enable us to recognise and enhance existing initiatives, to facilitate the sharing of experience and learning, and also provide the necessary supports and tools for organisations and companies.
Healthy Campus Framework
A Healthy Campus adopts a holistic understanding of health, takes a whole campus approach and aspires to create a learning environment and organisational culture that enhances the health and wellbeing of its community and enables people to achieve their full potential. This framework is a guide to inspire and encourage all Higher Education Institutions in Ireland to work towards a whole campus approach to health and wellbeing.
Physical activity
The National Physical Activity Plan creates increased opportunities for people to be active in ways which fit in to everyday lives and which suits individual needs, circumstances and interests.
It does this by:
- removing the barriers which people face to being active and encouraging people to recognise how to overcome those barriers
- enhancing cross-sectoral cooperation at national, local and community level to encourage physical activity at every level
- encouraging a supportive environment where physical activity becomes normal
- promoting good practice and finding new models of participation which get more people active
Obesity
It is well established that obesity and overweight is a significant problem in Ireland. Tackling this complex issue requires multi-agency, multi-level and co-ordinated approaches.
Ireland's National Obesity Policy and Action Plan aims to reverse obesity trends, to prevent health complications and reduce the overall burden for individuals, families, the health system and the wider society and economy.
Smoking
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland. Each year at least 5,500 people die from diseases caused by tobacco use.
The Tobacco Free Ireland strategy was launched in October 2013. It sets a target for Ireland to have a smoking prevalence rate of less than 5% by 2025, effectively making the country a tobacco free society.
Alcohol
Alcohol affects your body and brain, increases many health risks and can damage your mental health.
The misuse of alcohol and harmful patterns of drinking not only include negative effects on the health of those drinking too much, but also cause harm to families and society as a whole.
Sexual health
The National Sexual Health Strategy 2015 – 2020 is a strategic framework for the sexual health and wellbeing of the Irish population.
This Strategy’s vision is that everyone in Ireland experiences positive sexual health and wellbeing and has access to high quality sexual health information, education and services.
It takes a life course approach to sexual health which acknowledges the importance of developing healthy sexuality throughout childhood and adolescence and builds on that foundation for positive sexual health and wellbeing into adulthood and older age.
Skin cancer
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Ireland. Nearly 13,000 cases of skin cancer are diagnosed annually. This is twice the number compared to 10 years ago and is projected to more than double again by 2043. Yet most skin cancers could be prevented.
Vitamin D
People in Ireland do not get enough vitamin D from their diet or from the effect of sunlight on their skin.
The Department of Health recommends vitamin D supplements for everyone. The amount needed depends on age, skin tone, situation and the time of year.
Based on evidence provided in a report from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), the department is providing population health guidance for vitamin D supplementation for older people. The recommendation is that adults aged 65 and older take a vitamin D supplement of 15 micrograms (15μg) every day to ensure they get the essential vitamin D needed for bone and muscle health.
Folic Acid
The Folic Acid Supplementation Report by the Department of Health Folic Acid Policy Committee (2019) presents the findings of the Committee that was established to provide recommendations to the Minister for Health on the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs) in Ireland.
The Committee considers that there is considerable evidence in support of the introduction of mandatory fortification of foodstuffs with folic acid (FA). However, the Committee also recognises that this would be a significant undertaking in terms of resources and timing. In addition, the implications of Brexit would need to be worked through before any further consideration could be given to mandatory food fortification. With this in mind, other actions are needed to optimise both Folic Acid supplement use in the short-term.
Nutrition Guidelines for Food Parcels
Healthy Ireland partners have developed Nutritional Guidelines for Food Parcels to help facilitate partnerships and organisations such as Slaintecare Healthy Communities, Food Cloud, Community Food Initiatives and the Department of Social Protection plan nutritious food parcels.
The Healthy Ireland Survey
Read the Healthy Ireland Survey 2024.
The Healthy Ireland Survey is an annual survey commissioned by the Department of Health. It is part of the Healthy Ireland Framework 2019-2025 to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Ireland.
The Healthy Ireland Survey is aligned with Ireland’s Well-being Framework, launched in July 2021, which seeks to move beyond using just economic measures in gauging our progress as a country, by looking at economic, environmental and social issues together. The Framework focuses on quality of life, with a particular emphasis on equality and sustainability.
It consists of 11 dimensions which are made up of different aspects of well-being and is supported by a dashboard of 35 indicators which are available on the CSO website.
The objectives of the Healthy Ireland survey are to:
- provide and report on current and credible data in order to enhance the monitoring and assessment of the various policy initiatives under the Framework
- support and enhance Ireland’s ability to meet many of its international reporting obligations
- feed into the Outcomes Framework for Healthy Ireland and contribute to assessing, monitoring and realising the benefits of the overall health reform strategy
- allow targeted monitoring where necessary, with an outcomes-focused approach, leading to enhanced responsiveness and agility from a policy-making perspective
- support the Department of Health in ongoing engagement and awareness-raising activities in the various policy areas and support better understanding of policy priorities
Healthy Ireland Outcomes Framework
The Healthy Ireland Outcomes Framework has been developed to monitor and drive the achievement of Healthy Ireland’s targets and performance indicators.
The Outcomes Framework is based on a conceptual model for health and wellbeing which incorporates health status, health outcomes and determinants of health and wellbeing across the life.
Mental Health Promotion Plan
One of the goals of Healthy Ireland is to increase the proportion of people who are healthy at all stages of life, and prevention and early intervention is one of the pillars to achieving this. In the context of mental health and wellbeing, there is a growing body of evidence at an international level on the benefits to individuals and society at large when positive mental health is promoted and integrated across the lifecourse.
The development of a National Mental Health Promotion Plan is now a priority, and evidence in relation to mental health promotion interventions across the lifecourse, and in the context of the settings where people work, live, learn and play, will help to inform the plan.
It is envisaged that the National Mental Health Promotion Plan will be underpinned by a whole of government approach and will provide strategic direction for promoting positive mental health in line with international best practise.
Sláintecare Healthy Communities
The Sláintecare Healthy Communities (SHC) Programme is a cross-government initiative to reduce health inequalities in Ireland. Launched in 2021, the programme provides health and wellbeing services and community development initiatives in 19 community areas across Ireland where health inequalities are most evident.
Period Poverty
Period poverty refers to inadequate access to menstrual hygiene, including period products (for example, sanitary towels and tampons), washing, waste management facilities and education. Adverse consequences include recurrent exclusion from activities of daily life (for example, school, work, sports or social activities) during menstruation and health impacts resulting from exclusion and use of unsuitable period products.