Healthy Ireland is a new Government plan, that involves every part of Irish society in improving our health and wellbeing. It was published in March 2013.
The wellbeing and health of the people living in our country is the most valuable resource that we have. Health is major asset for our society, and improving the health and wellbeing of the nation is a national priority for the Government.
Healthy Ireland is a new national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of our country over the coming generation. It was published on March 28th 2013, setting out four central goals for our health and wellbeing, and clear routes and strategies to achieve these goals, in which all people and all parts of our society can participate.
This framework is needed because the health and wellbeing of our country is changing, and there are many trends that are leading us toward an unhealthy and extremely costly future. Evidence and experience from around the world clearly shows that to create positive health and wellbeing change takes the involvement of the whole community, the whole of Government, all of society working in unison.
The Healthy Ireland Vision
A healthy Ireland; where everyone can enjoy physical and mental health and wellbeing to their full potential; where wellbeing is valued and supported at every level of society and is everyone’s responsibility.
Achieving this vision will be complex, and will take place at a growing pace over the coming 10-20 years. Influencing current health trends, reversing them, and moving toward a better future will take senior government and societal commitment, will take time, planning and strong leadership, will take good systems of measurement and implementation, and will rest ultimately with supporting people to make healthy choices, day-by-day, as they go about their daily lives.
Healthy Ireland’s four high-level goals will be at the heart of all actions and activities. They are:
- Increasing the proportion of Irish people who are healthy at all stages of life
- Reducing health inequalities
- Protecting the public from threats to health and wellbeing
- Creating an environment where every sector of society can play its part