Health System Responses to Financial Pressures in Ireland: Policy Options in an International Context

The Irish Department of Health commissioned the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (the Observatory) to prepare this report as part of a rapid response mechanism to provide a quick review of the evidence on a specific policy question. It was compiled by a team of international and Irish researchers led by the Observatory and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. The Observatory is an international partnership hosted by WHO. The partnership includes three other international agencies (the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank), several national and decentralised governments, including Ireland, and academic institutions. As an independent and neutral knowledge broker the Observatory's core mission is to inform policy- and decision-making processes by providing tailored, timely and reliable evidence on health policy and health systems.