On Friday 16 October, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission announced funding for projects under its Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme 2020. The 2020 grant programme awards small grants of up to €6,000 and general grants of up to €20,000 to support civil society organisations, rights-holder and community led groups, and trade unions in Ireland promote access to justice for people who face the greatest barriers to accessing their rights.

Dr John Lombard (School of Law) and Dr Owen Doody (Dept of Nursing and Midwifery) were named co-applicants in a successful funding bid led by the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care. The title of the project is ‘Shaping Palliative Care Policy using a Human Rights Approach’. The research project aims to give voice to nursing home residents, their families and care workers in relation to their experience and expectations of palliative care to ensure that any changes to palliative care policy, especially due to Covid-19, will be informed and shaped by the needs and perspectives of rights holders. It will also educate and inform policy makers, service providers, healthcare professionals, the public and specifically people living in nursing homes, their families and care workers on their rights in relation to palliative care during a pandemic.

Partner organisations in the project include the Health Information Quality Authority, Health Service Executive, Mental Health Commission, Nursing Homes Ireland, Irish Hospice Foundation, Age related Healthcare Department Tallaght Hospital, and Medicine for the Elderly St Vincent’s Hospital.