State of long-term care in Ireland

Overview

This report provides an overview of long-term care policies, services and interventions in Ireland, drawing on a system-level technical assessment carried out between December 2023 and April 2024. Evidence-gathering and stakeholder-engagement activities followed the approach outlined in the report State of long-term care: a step-by-step implementation guide and were carried out by a team of international and national LTC experts. The assessment revealed four core areas of policy action that can promote sustainable transformation in long-term care in Ireland:

1. improving integration through redesigning and expanding mechanisms of coordination between sectors;
2. increasing public financing and restructuring financing mechanisms to pool resources;
3. investing in the care workforce— both formal and informal—through interventions to plan, train, recruit and retain health and care workers; and
4. ensuring interoperability and harmonization of information systems and strengthening capacity to analyse data to inform policies.