“People living in Ireland have access to creative and cultural activity as part of a holistic health journey throughout the life course, supporting better health and wellbeing outcomes and enriching the creative and artistic landscape.”
Vision statement, Strategic Action Plan for Arts and Health (2025)
Réalta is delighted to welcome the publication of Ireland’s first Strategic Action Plan for Arts and Health (2025) by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (Creative Ireland), the Department of Health (Healthy Ireland/Sláintecare), the HSE, and the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
This Strategic Action Plan represents a significant step forward in recognising the vital role of arts and creativity in supporting public health and wellbeing.
The Strategic Action Plan sets out the rationale for a joint policy approach, and outlines the steps involved in building an arts and health policy partnership in Ireland, beginning with the Memorandum of Understanding in December 2020 between the participating bodies, before setting out its clear and inclusive vision and six strategic objectives:
- Policy – To articulate a joint policy position on arts and health in Ireland and ensure co-ordinated input to international policy making.
- Evidence – To establish a research and evaluation framework for arts and health in Ireland to build the evidence base for sustainable project design and funding.
- Capacity – To provide training and support to equip creative and healthcare professionals to work together to embed creative and cultural activity in the health service in Ireland.
- Delivery – To prioritise suitable projects or pilot initiatives and design sustainable delivery mechanisms for their scaling.
- Governance – To design and implement governance and reporting arrangements to support a joint policy approach.
- Communications & Engagement – To develop and implement an engagement strategy to ensure open dialogue with all stakeholders and support effective implementation.
Réalta strongly supports this plan and its ambitious, collaborative approach to embedding the arts in health and wellbeing strategies. We look forward to contributing to its successful implementation and to helping ensure access and engagement in the arts is part of every person’s health journey in Ireland.
Download the Strategic Action Plan here
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