Assignment of Responsibilities under the
Public Service Management Act 1997

As set out in the Department's Statement of Strategy 2015-2017, (http://health.gov.ie/blog/publications/statement-of-strategy-2015-2017/) the Department of Health's role is fourfold. It provides leadership and policy direction for the health sector to improve health outcomes; delivers governance and performance oversight to ensure accountable and high quality services; collaborates to achieve health priorities and contributes to wider economic and social goals; and is an organisation where, on an ongoing basis, high performance is achieved and the knowledge and skills of staff are developed. The overall aim of the Department is to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Ireland by keeping people healthy; providing the healthcare people need, delivering high quality services; and getting best value from health system resources.