In 2024, €69.9 billion was spent on social protection in Ireland, 5.9% more than in 2023.
Spending on Sickness/Healthcare and Old Age continued to account for the largest proportion of social protection expenditure in 2024 at 71.6% of the total or €48.4 billion.
Expenditure on Disability had the next largest increase at 8.9%, from €3.3 billion in 2023 to €3.6 billion in 2024.
Ireland has the second highest proportion of means-tested benefits in Europe at 25%. The EU average is 11%.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (02 December 2025) published Social Protection Expenditure in Ireland 2024.
Commenting on the release, Ciara O’Shea, Statistician in the Government Accounts Compilation and Outputs Division, said: “Social protection is a set of interventions where the objective is to reduce social and economic risk and vulnerability and to alleviate extreme poverty and deprivation.
Social protection expenditure in Ireland was €69.9 billion in 2024, based on preliminary estimates. Compared with 2023, this was an increase of €3.9 billion or 5.9%. The total expenditure represented 12% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or 22% of Modified Gross National Income (GNI*). The main increases were observed in the areas of Sickness/Healthcare (+€4.4 billion) and Disability (+€0.3 billion).
International Comparison
Social protection benefits can be means-tested or non-means-tested. Within all European countries, the majority of benefits are non-means-tested varying from 99% in Estonia to 64% in Denmark. Ireland has the second lowest proportion of non-means-tested benefits at 75%. The European average is 89%.
Social Protection Schemes
The Public Health scheme is the largest scheme in terms of expenditure (€26.8 billion or 39.7% of the total), followed by Department of Social Protection (DSP) Voted Expenditure (€13.5 billion or 20.1%), the Social Insurance Fund (€13.1 billion or 19.4%), Government Employment (€6.1 billion or 9%), and Private Occupational Pensions (€4.2 billion or 6.2%). The remaining two schemes are small in comparison: the Housing scheme accounted for €2.8 billion or 4.2% of expenditure while the spend on the Child Protection Scheme was €1 billion or 1.5% of expenditure.”