The Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) has called for the introduction of universal health insurance and a single waiting list for treatment for all patients in its pre-budget submission.
INO general secretary Liam Doran said a cornerstone of a developed health service must be equity of access.
"This country now has the resources to fund and structure our health services to treat all people equally with need being the only determinant of access to care," he said.
The submission calls for the introduction of multi-year budgets which allow for at least a 5 per cent increase in expenditure above the rate of inflation, for each of the next five years.
It says that funding must be ringfenced every year for new services and it calls for funding for infrastructural projects to increase bed capacity and provide more single room facilities to minimise hospital acquired infections.
Funding must also be provided for 24-hour walk-in small injury clinics in all major towns and cities, the INO submission says.
The organisation is seeking the introduction, over a two-year period, of free and nationwide health checks. The checks would initially focus on the over-50s and would include screening for cardiovascular and endocrine disease.
The nurses' organisation also calls for the introduction of an early retirement or voluntary retirement scheme for middle and senior general management grades in the Health Service Executive (HSE).
It says the decision to set up the HSE by filling all management posts from existing management grades via confined competition was "short-sighted, ill advised and contrary to delivering a patient focused, and clinician delivered health service".
The submission also expresses concern at the rising number of vacant nursing posts and it urges the Government to look at ways of retaining Irish-trained nurses and midwives in the public health service.
It says that all existing cancer services must be maintained until the eight centres of excellence have been developed.
