The statistics in this chapter relate to the expenditure on health in Ireland. Additional data is available in the System of Health Accounts 2018 publication.
| Table 4.1: Current Health Expenditure in Ireland, 2014 to 2018 | |||
| Year | €million | % of GDP | % of GNI* |
| 2014 | 18,850 | 11.5 | 15.1 |
| 2015 | 19,232 | 8.5 | 13.8 |
| 2016 | 20,143 | 8.3 | 12.8 |
| 2017 | 21,259 | 7.6 | 12.2 |
| 2018 | 22,452 | 6.9 | 11.4 |
| Source: CSO | |||
(Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) is equal to Gross National Income at current market prices less the factor income of redomiciled companies, less depreciation on research and development related intellectual property imports and less depreciation on aircraft related to aircraft leasing.)
Current expenditure on health care in Ireland was €22.5 billion in 2018
Ireland's health expenditure was €22.5 billion in 2018, which is equivalent to 6.9% of GDP or 11.4% of GNI*. Health expenditure increased by 6% between 2017 and 2018 and by 19% between 2014 and 2018 (Table 4.1).
The majority of health expenditure (74%) was funded by government, with the balance funded by private sources including voluntary health care payments (14%) and household out-of-pocket expenditure (12%). The share of spending between the classification groups has has been stable over time (see Figure 4.1).
Interactive table: StatBank SHA07
Link to publication: System of Health Accounts
| X-axis label | Government | Voluntary Payments | Household Out of Pocket |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 13386.6837349666 | 2818.31720281165 | 2645.22018573497 |
| 2015 | 13854.6053907424 | 2835.20285923916 | 2542.14200710066 |
| 2016 | 14592.2827927332 | 2998.85202331859 | 2552.06049684754 |
| 2017 | 15473.7649874725 | 3109.01874248695 | 2676.47854674605 |
| 2018 | 16589.7953527654 | 3148.94478531743 | 2712.90576824904 |
Who is delivering the health care goods and services?
Health care providers include all the organisations and individuals who deliver health care goods and services as their primary activity. Further details on the health care providers can be found in the System of Health accounts publication.
Out of every €100 spent on health care in 2018, €37 was spent in hospitals and €20 in out-patient health care providers, mainly GPs and dentists. A further €18 was spent in long-term residential facilities, such as nursing homes and residential disability services, and €13 in retailers of medical goods (mainly pharmacies), (see Figure 4.2).
| Current Health Care Expenditure By Provider (% Current Health Care Expenditure) | |
| Hospitals | 37.2 |
| Ambulatory Health Care Provider | 19.9 |
| Long-Term Residential Facilities | 17.7 |
| Retailer of Medical Goods | 13.2 |
| Ancillary Health Care Provider | 1.4 |
| Other Providers | 10.7 |
Link to publication: System of Health Accounts
Preliminary estimates of health expenditure for 2019
Table 4.2 provides first estimates of the SHA expenditure for 2019.Total current expenditure on health in 2019 is estimated to be €23.8 billion. This represents an annual increase of 5.8% between 2018 and 2019. Within this government spending is estimated to have risen by 6.4%.
Interactive tables: Statbank
Link to publication: System of Health Accounts
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