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Agencies and Health Bodies

Rationalisation of Agencies in the Health Sector for the DOHC website

A major programme of agency rationalisation within the health sector was announced by the Minister for Health on 15th October, 2008. The primary aim of this ambitious programme is to streamline service delivery, professional registration and policy making in a number of areas in the health sector, through the integration and /or amalgamation of functions. Efficiencies will derive over time from economies of scale and the elimination of duplication in areas such as recruitment, procurement, payroll and ICT systems.

Legislation is required to facilitate the rationalisation programme and considerable work is ongoing within the Department in this area at present.

A list of the agencies in the rationalisation programme and the target timeframe for rationalisation.

List of Agencies

• An Bord Altranais
• Dental Council
• Food Safety Authority of Ireland
• Food Safety Promotion Board, see Safefood
• Health Information and Quality Authority
• Health Insurance Authority
• Health Research Board
• Irish Blood Transfusion Service
• Irish Medicines Board
• Medical Council
• Mental Health Commission
• National Cancer Registry Board
• Optician's Board
• Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland
• Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council
• National Treatment Purchase Fund
• National Paediatric Hospital

Commercial State Company

• VHI

List of the agencies in the rationalisation programme

Arising from the Government decision of 8 July 2008 on expenditure measures, a comprehensive programme of agency rationalisation is to be implemented across the public service.

This Department’s measures for the rationalisation of agencies within the health sector have been prepared primarily in the context of the OECD’s recommendations for a more integrated public service. The measures reflect and build upon the progress to date with agency rationalisation within the sector under the overall health reform programme, and take account of experience to date with the practicalities of rationalisation.

The implementation of the rationalisation programme will mean that, the number of health agencies will decline from 30 to 15 agencies. The Department’s main focus to date has been and continues to be the progressing of a significant legislative programme required to facilitate the roll out of this rationalisation programme. Each agency must be dissolved and rationalised by way of Primary Legislation.

It had been originally planned to merge the FSAI and IMB but following a Memo to Government in 2010 it was agreed that both should remain stand alone agencies. Nine bodies have been dissolved to date as follows:

The implementation of the rationalisation programme will mean that, excluding the HSE, there will ultimately be 15 agencies in the health sector:

• National Treatment Purchase Fund, Health Research Board and Irish Blood Transfusion Service;
• Food Safety Promotion Board and the Institute of Public Health (both North/South bodies);
• Five professional regulators: the Medical and Dental Councils, Bord Altranais, Health & Social Care Professionals Council, Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, and Five other regulators: HIQA, Mental Health Commission, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Irish Medicines Board and Health Insurance Authority

Plans are underway to rationalise a further four bodies as follows: