HSE publishes 2026 National Service Plan

The Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley, have today welcomed the publication of the HSE National Service Plan 2026. The plan sets out the delivery of a range of health and social care services that will be provided to the people of Ireland within the budget of €29bn. This includes a €3.8bn investment for disability services, a 20% increase on 2025.

2026 highlights include:

• 428 community beds and 177 acute beds will be delivered
• 5 new surgical hubs will be operational
• The National Children’s Hospital Ireland (NCHI) will be completed.
• Single point of access to disability, mental health and primary care services will be provided for children to improve timely access to the right care
• Expansion of core disability services including residential supports - delivering 199 residential placements, 58 decongregation transitions, and 45 transitions from nursing homes for people under 65
• Greater access with more services available in the evenings and on weekends
• The Maternity and Newborn Electronic Health Record system will be deployed in 4 of the remaining 13 maternity units
• The Shared Care Record will be implemented in the Dublin South East region and implementation will commence in two other regions.

Speaking about the HSE’s priorities for 2026, Ciarán Devane, HSE Chairman, said: “The 2026 Plan represents a continuation of our reform journey towards a health and social care system that is accessible, supportive, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of all. Ireland’s population now exceeds 5.3 million. Life expectancy continues to rise, projected at 82.7 years overall in 2025, placing us among the highest in Europe. Continuing improvement in life expectancy and in healthy life years remains an important goal now and for the long term.

“Our priority for 2026 is to improve access to care by making significant improvements to waiting times for both emergency and scheduled care. Part of this will be expanding and strengthening health and social care capacity to meet the increasingly complex needs of a growing, ageing, and diverse population. More, however, will be using our existing resources to best effect, innovating our processes to ensure our colleagues are supported to have the time and resources to continue to deliver great care.”

Welcoming the publication of the National Service Plan, the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Department of Health, said: "The Government’s priority for 2026 is to improve healthcare access and quality across all Health Regions. This will be achieved through targeted investment that supports the shift to community-based care, reduces hospital overcrowding, and delivers services closer to home. Investment will be directed where it delivers the greatest impact for patients and return for taxpayers on the State’s sustained healthcare funding over the past decade.

“Over the past decade, targeted investment has resulted in faster diagnosis, improved outcomes, increases in activity and clearer care pathways for patients. But we still have work to do to make these improvements consistent. In some areas, patients are seen quickly; in others, access is slower. Meanwhile, services such as community therapies face severe backlogs, even in Health Regions that perform well in other areas. Our goal is that wherever you live in Ireland, you should have timely access to high-quality care.””

Minister of State for Older People and Housing, Kieran O’Donnell said: “The National Service Plan (NSP) for 2026 demonstrates the Government’s commitment to ensuring older people receive the right care in the right place at the right time.

“NSP 2026 sets out a target to increase home support delivery to 26.7 million hours. This is a vital service for older people. It enables service users to live independently and with dignity in their own homes for longer, which is a key focus of Sláintecare. Alongside this target, action will also be taken to reduce the home support waiting list. It is an aim of this Government to ensure that, regardless of where you live, you should have timely access to high quality care.

“Additionally, funding will be provided to deliver over 3.3 million Meals on Wheels. 313 day centres will be resourced to support 15,800 older people in 2026. These services are invaluable resources in helping older people in our communities to maintain their health and independence. The social benefits both to the client and the wider community are clear, and their expansion will continue into 2026.”

Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health, Mary Butler said: “An additional 300 posts are being allocated to Mental Health Services under the HSE National Service Plan for 2026. This is a record staffing increase and represents 9% of the total health workforce growth for next year.

“Over 100 of these new clinical staff will be focused on providing an enhanced crisis response for people experiencing a mental health crisis, both in our hospitals and in our communities. 

“New specialist nursing teams will be deployed out-of-hours in Model 4 hospital emergency departments to support people presenting in a crisis. In the community, I am establishing three new Crisis Resolution Teams and Cafés in Donegal, Kerry, and the Midlands to provide more appropriate environments to support people in distress.

“Next year, I am also investing more resources in early intervention youth mental health, in talking therapies, in digital mental health, and in continuing the rollout of our national clinical programmes in mental health.”

Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor welcomed the report: “The additional €11m in funding provided for drugs and inclusion health in NSP 2026 will address disparities in the availability of and access to services across the six HSE health regions. In particular, the service plan will drive health equity and enhance the health and wellbeing for Travellers, Roma, people who are homeless and refugees. It will also support the implementation of the forthcoming national drugs strategy by expanding capacity in drug and alcohol services across the country.”

Minister Norma Foley, Department of Children, Disability and Equality, said: “This year we have provided a record investment of €3.88bn for Disability Services, a 20% increase on 2025 and the largest single year investment in the history of the service. This funding reflects the State’s commitment to advancing the rights of disabled people and delivering on the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. This will strengthen sustainability, expand capacity, and embed a rights-based, person-centred approach across all services.”

Bernard Gloster, HSE CEO, said: “We enter 2026 with the foundations of organisational reform in place and a clear Government mandate to accelerate improvements in service delivery for the people we serve. The establishment of six Health Regions under Sláintecare and 20 Integrated Health Areas, marks a critical step towards planning and delivering services around the specific needs of local populations leading to better co-ordination of care and improved access to services. This transition to population-focused funding aligns resources with need and empowers Health Regions to deliver integrated, responsive care, with the ultimate goal of achieving better health outcomes. 2026 is the first year and first major step towards the type of resource allocation and the pathway set by the Minister is clear - we must look at all resources existing and new together to achieve the priorities for the people.

“In addition, the expansion of community-based care, and progress in digital transformation have marked important steps in our progress to date. We continue to work to enhance hospital services, improving patient flow, efficiency and capacity, and introducing new models of care to support timely treatment and better outcomes. The goal of right care, right place, right time can be our only real target as we balance the critical success factors of access, safety and outcome.”

This National Service Plan for 2026 sets out clear, measurable actions under key commitments that support the goals of the HSE Corporate Plan 2025-2027, universal healthcare and providing services that make a lasting difference for generations to come:

Healthy Communities – Prevention and Early Intervention

• Focus on prevention and early intervention to help people live longer, healthier lives. This includes expanding initiatives such as Sláintecare Healthy Communities, social prescribing, and targeted programmes to support healthy lifestyle choices
• Enhance screening programmes for cancer, diabetic retinopathy, and children’s health, ensuring earlier diagnosis and better treatment results
• Protect public health with continued investment in immunisation, health protection strategies, and measures to reduce health inequalities.

Right Care, Right Place, Right Time

• Access and timeliness: The HSE is committed to ensuring that every person receives the right care without delay, in the most appropriate setting. This means reducing waiting times for planned care and in Emergency Departments, community services to provide the right care closer to home, and improved access to early intervention mental health services.
• Quality and safety of care: The HSE will strengthen clinical governance, safeguarding arrangements, invest in staff training, and embed continuous quality improvement across all Health Regions and National Services to ensure that every interaction meets the highest standards of safety and compassion.
• Capacity and reform delivery: Building sustainable capacity is essential to meet growing demand and deliver reform. In 2026, the HSE will continue to increase capacity and modernise infrastructure that reflects new ways of responding to demand, implementing digital solutions that support integrated, safe, person-centred care.

Strong Foundations – Value for Money

• Delivering value for money is a core responsibility as the HSE manages a record €29bn investment in 2026. The HSE is committed to ensuring that every euro spent translates into better access, improved quality, and tangible outcomes for patients and service users.

Disability Services – Receiving Right Care, Right Time, Right Place

• Supporting people with disabilities and their families remains a fundamental commitment for 2026.
• The HSE will continue to expand specialist services, including residential care, day supports, respite, and personal assistance.
• This year sees investment of over €3.8bn for disability services, enabling us to increase capacity and deliver more person-centred supports in line with the Government’s Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026 and the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, embedding the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).
• A key focus will be on reducing waiting times for assessments, improving access to community-based services, and ensuring that every individual can live with dignity and inclusion.
• Engagement with people living with disabilities is also built into both the strategy and, by extension, the HSE’s planning mechanisms.