Skip to main page content


European Conference

"Enhancing the Quality of Social Care Services"

Location: Farmleigh, Dublin, Ireland. Tuesday 9th December 2008

Pictured from Left: Mr. Alexander Vladychenko, Director General of Social Cohesion, Council of Europe; Mr. John Moloney T.D, Minister for Equality, Disability and Mental Health in the Department of Health and Children, Ireland; Dr. Tracey Cooper, CEO, Health Information and Quality Authority; Dr. Marion Witton, Director of Social Services Inspectorate, Health Information and Quality Authority, and Mr. Pat McGrath, Chairperson, Health Information and Quality Authority, Ireland.

Pictured from Left: Mr. Alexander Vladychenko, Director General of Social Cohesion, Council of Europe; Mr. John Moloney T.D, Minister for Equality, Disability and Mental Health in the Department of Health and Children, Ireland; Dr. Tracey Cooper, CEO, Health Information and Quality Authority; Dr. Marion Witton, Director of Social Services Inspectorate, Health Information and Quality Authority, and Mr. Pat McGrath, Chairperson, Health Information and Quality Authority, Ireland.

Unlike healthcare, there are few established European Networks for social care professionals involved in the setting and monitoring of standards, therefore, this was a unique opportunity to discuss the potential for establishing a European network of Social Care professionals, regulators, inspectors and supervisors.

View the Conference Brochure

Speakers and presentations:

Mr. Alexander Vladychenko
Director General of Social Cohesion, Council of Europe
Council of Europe recommendations to improve the quality of service and care provision in the social and health fields and to promote and protect the human rights of service users



Mr. Cveto Ursic
Director General, Directorate for Disabled Persons, Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, Slovenia
Quality of Social Services for persons with disabilities from a governmental perspective – the Case of EU and Slovenia



Mr. J Patrick Clarke
Vice President of Down Syndrome Ireland
Service User’s Perspective



Ms. Siobhan Barron
Director of the National Disability Authority, Ireland
The National Disability Strategy – A Framework for Change



Professor Roland Bal
Chair of the Department of Healthcare Governance of the Institute of Health Policy and Management in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Inspecting the Quality of Care in Changing Health and Social Care Systems



Professor Ann Netten
Director of Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU), United Kingdom
Measuring Quality in Social Care



Mr. Neil Grant
Partner Bevan Brittan LLP. United Kingdom
Enhancing the Quality of Social Care Services: Legal Perspective



Professor Eamon O’Shea
Professor Eamon O’Shea, Professor in the Department of Economics and Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (ICSG) at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Ireland
Ageing and Technology



Mr. Soren Ginnerup M.Sc.
Senior Advisor at the Danish Building Research Institute(SBi), University of Aalborg. Denmark
Universal Design and Social Care Services



Mr. Jan Spooren
Secretary General of the European Platform for Rehabilitation
EQUASS as a European approach to Quality of Social Services


For more information please contact conference@hiqa.ie