The Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has unveiled AI for Care, Ireland’s first national strategy dedicated to the application of AI in health and social care.
The strategy targets four key areas; clinical care, operations, research & innovation, and public health. Certified AI radiology solutions are a priority, as is AI‑supported discharge planning.
AI scribes are expected to cut documentation time by up to 40 per cent, AI tools for screening services are expected to boost capacity and reduce turnaround times for people waiting for test results.
AI for Care is also intended to stimulate innovation across Ireland’s medtech and digital health sectors. It will support the growth of new specialist roles, including clinical AI leads.
A practical roadmap
Minister Carroll MacNeill said: “AI for Care marks an important step toward creating a safer, smarter, and more sustainable healthcare service. It provides a clear and practical roadmap for adopting AI in ways that are safe, transparent, truly enhance patient care, and support clinicians. The strategy focuses on using technology to strengthen, rather than replace the vital human relationships at the core of healthcare.
“We are already seeing improved healthcare outcomes from the use of AI, including expedited stroke and cancer diagnoses, enhanced patient flow, and reduced administrative workload for clinicians.
“AI offers us a rare opportunity to reshape how care is delivered – making it more timely, more personalised and more equitable. With AI for Care, Ireland is taking a responsible, ambitious, people‑centred approach to this future.”
During the launch event at the Mater Hospital, the Minister emphasised that AI technologies are intended to support clinicians and enhance clinical judgement, and stressed the importance of robust safeguards, such as mandatory human oversight, compliance with the EU AI Act, and forthcoming national guidance from HIQA.
Transformative tool
Welcoming the strategy, Damien McCallion, HSE Chief Technology and Transformation Officer, said: “AI is already changing how people learn, work and live, and is integral in our transformation journey to reshape Ireland’s health and social care services. Developed with the Department of Health, patients and other stakeholders, under the Digital for Care framework, AI for Care aims to promote and use AI as a transformative tool to improve the quality of care for patients, drive increased efficiency and productivity, and enable research and population health planning. We are facing ever increasing demands for healthcare as our population continues to grow, our use of AI will be pivotal in fostering further innovation and addressing the challenges facing the system.”
“AI for Care is a living strategy that will evolve over time and is shaped by the needs of patients, healthcare providers, the public and other key stakeholders. The new strategy sets out the vision for AI across Ireland’s Health Services and the opportunities for AI deployment over the next five years.”
Richard Greene, HSE Chief Clinical Information Officer, said: “Across any AI effort, we will ensure we remain fully person-centric and transparent and trustworthy. We will ensure a human approach is taken to use AI to further enable – not replace – healthcare professionals in their work, and that we lean on lived experience to guide continuous learning. We will ensure that we enforce the appropriate governance and safety measures and realise proven benefit throughout the deployment of our AI Strategy.
Potential use cases for AI are being identified, and we have several projects already underway in some parts of the health service. AI for Care sets out the path forward to build on this positive work and harness the power of AI to support more areas of the health service in a safe and responsible way.”
Implementation framework
The HSE will soon publish an AI Implementation Framework to complement AI for Care. The Framework will set out a five-year implementation plan, beginning with AI deployment in areas with the highest level of proven success, including diagnostics, administration and supply chain management.
Given the ever-evolving fast pace of AI, the roadmap is designed to be agile, and will be continuously monitored and updated by the governance mechanisms set out in the AI Implementation Framework to ensure AI is deployed as needed across the health service.
