ABSTRACT
The Republic of Ireland as an independent state was created in 1922 and consists of 26 of the 32 counties on the island of Ireland. The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas, established in November 2012 as an independent expert group to examine and report on the medium-term economic development of rural Ireland to 2025, published its report ‘Energising Ireland’s Rural Economy’ in April 2014. The Department of Health, headed by a minister of health, determines health policy in the Republic of Ireland, and the Health Services Executive is then tasked with the delivery of publicly funded healthcare. Since the advent of the ‘dispensary’ model of primary care delivery in the last century, rural communities have been served very successfully by often small general practice–led primary care teams which research demonstrates can deliver both cost-effective and high-quality care to such populations.
