Spending on healthcare in Ireland was €30.9 billion in 2022, up €2.4 billion or 8.2% on the amount spent on healthcare in 2021.
Healthcare expenditure in Ireland was 11% of modified Gross National Income (GNI*) in 2022 compared with the OECD average of 9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In 2022 the Government financed 77% of healthcare expenditure while private health insurance companies paid for 12%.
Most healthcare spending takes place in the hospital setting, which was up 12% in 2022.
More than half of the total healthcare expenditure is on curative and rehabilitative care, and in 2022 almost €18 billion was spent on this type of care.
While spending on preventive care decreased by 19% in the year, it was more than double the spend of 2019.
Preliminary estimates for 2023 show total expenditure on healthcare was €33.1 billion, which was a 7% increase on 2022.
In 2022 Ireland spent €30.9 billion on current healthcare costs, equivalent to 6.1% of GDP or 11.3% of GNI*. This was an 8.2% increase over the level of spending in 2021.
The System of Health Accounts measures the current expenditure on health care for residents of Ireland. A number of classifications are used in this publication which are explained in the background notes.
| Table 1.1: Current Health Expenditure in Ireland, 2018 to 2022 | |||
| Year | € million | % of GDP | % of GNI* |
| 2018 | 22,460 | 6.9 | 11.3 |
| 2019 | 23,931 | 6.7 | 11.1 |
| 2020 | 26,505 | 7.1 | 12.7 |
| 2021 | 28,632 | 6.7 | 12.2 |
| 2022 | 30,983 | 6.1 | 11.3 |
| GNI* series used in this table taken from Annual National Accounts 2022 | |||
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (19 June 2024) released System of Health Accounts 2022.
Commenting on the release, Elaine O'Sullivan, Statistician, said: “The total spend on healthcare was €30.9 billion in 2022. When comparing 2022 with 2021 we can see a continued resumption of normal healthcare activities. While Government spending on healthcare increased by 8.2% in 2022, the spending by Private Health Insurance companies rose by 8.4%.
As a result of the growth in Ireland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), healthcare as a percentage of GDP is below the OECD average. In 2022, health expenditure in Ireland represented 6.1% of GDP compared with the OECD average of 9.2%. However, a comparison using modified Gross National Income (GNI*), a measure which eliminates globalisation effects, puts Ireland at 11.3%.
Most spending on healthcare occurs within the hospital setting with €11.83 billion spent in 2022. This is 12% more than was spent in 2021.
Spending on preventive care showed a decrease, with an annual fall of 19%, this decrease is due to a reduction in testing and tracing costs associated with Covid19. The expenditure on preventive care is still substantially higher than pre-Covid19 levels.
Preliminary results for 2023 show growth of €2.6 billion in spending or 8.6% more than in 2022.”