About Social Inclusion

HSE Social inclusion aims to reduce inequalities in health and improve access to mainstream and targeted health services for vulnerable and excluded groups in Ireland.

HSE Social Inclusion provides a range of services to support the following vulnerable groups:

• addiction
• homelessness
• intercultural health (including protection applicants, refugees and migrants)
• Irish Travellers and Roma
• LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) and
• domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
• Human Trafficking

Our work is underpinned by

• social determinants of health
• inclusion health and
• community development approaches

We work closely with different sectors and organisations to improve the health  of vulnerable persons.

Our services are unique within the HSE, because while we provide some of them directly, most are delivered through funding we provide to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within the community and voluntary sector. Although we are based within the HSE Primary Care Division, we work across much of the HSE. We represent the HSE on a range of cross-government groups and take part in joint projects with other HSE divisions, government sectors, NGO’s, academic bodies and training settings.

We also aim to enhance the participation of socially excluded groups and communities in health services particularly in relation to:

• planning;
• design;
• delivery;
• monitoring; and
• evaluation.

Governance

Governance and accountability are important areas in the HSE and we are also represented on the Community Strategy Management Team.

When developing and putting in place all areas of Social Inclusion, our Governance Group makes sure that appropriate arrangements are in place to coordinate, support and monitor best practice of all our services.

Various working groups report to the National Social Inclusion Governance Group (SIGG). These include the:

• National Addiction Advisory Governance group (NAGG)
• Homeless Advisory Governance group (HAGG)
• National Migrant Group
• National Traveller Health Advisory Forum (NTHAF)
• Roma Health Network Ireland (RHNI)
• LGBTQI+ sub-group
• Domestic Sexual and Gender Based Violence (DSGBV) sub-group
• Human Trafficking sub-group