Policies & Strategies
This section presents a range of policies and strategies relevant to arts and health practice.
This section presents a range of policies and strategies relevant to arts and health practice.
The compassionate communities approach is one in which caregiving, dying, death and grief are shared responsibilities of the whole community, complementing formal services dedicated to end-of-life care by fostering local networks of care and compassion. This position paper, developed as part of the ongoing all-Ireland Compassionate Communities research project, includes the role of the arts in facilitating discussions around emotive topics and helping to develop a compassionate culture.
5 March, 2025
The PAINT Policy Brief has been co-created by patients, families, researchers, healthcare and arts practitioners with an interest in or personal experience of kidney disease. The Policy Brief addresses the profound impact of haemodialysis on the mental health of patients and advocates for arts activities as a way of managing the emotional challenges and finding meaning and connection during treatment.
31 January, 2025
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media published a report on the Development of Local and Community Arts in July 2024. The report includes a number of significant recommendations in relation to Arts and Health following a public hearing and submissions from the sector.
23 July, 2024
Strengthening partnership and community working is one of the strategic priority areas, and includes a partnership approach with Creative Ireland, the Arts Council, and Healthy Ireland in the Department of Health to identify and support key opportunities to strengthen arts and health in the HSE.
9 July, 2023
The Arts for Health Partnership Programme provides year-round cultural and creative activities for residents of community hospitals, older people attending day care centres, and their family carers across West Cork.
8 July, 2023
This five year plan includes action areas focused on promoting positive mental health across the population and among HSE staff. There is a specific action to strengthen the role of arts and creativity in the promotion of mental health and wellbeing within the HSE and HSE-funded agencies.
6 July, 2022
Healthy Ireland is the national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of everyone living in Ireland. The Strategic Action Plan 2021-2025 includes priority focus areas for arts and culture.
8 March, 2022
The HSE Social Prescribing Framework supports the development of social prescribing within the HSE. It sets out a common approach for the delivery of social prescribing across the organisation.
1 August, 2021
Sláintecare is the Government's ten-year programme to transform Ireland's health and social care services.
6 July, 2021
Culture 2025 is a Policy Framework that defines the scope and sets the direction for Government policy in the whole cultural field.
5 March, 2020
This Manifesto for Arts and Health was written in 2016 by a group of Arts and Health Co-ordinators who work across a range of healthcare settings in the Republic of Ireland.
27 February, 2020
Within this Fair and Equitable Remuneration and Contracting Policy, the Arts Council articulates its position and expectations with regard to remuneration and contracting within the arts sector.
12 February, 2020
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