Ireland spent €22.5 billion on health in 2018, or €4,623 per person, new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show.

Health expenditure in Ireland is at 6.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) or 11.4% of gross national income (GNI), in comparison with an 8.8% Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average. Government spending accounts for 74% of the total while voluntary health care payments make up 14% and household direct payments 12%.

Curative care

And 56% of the total is spent on curative and rehabilitative care with 21% on long-term care, 14% on medical goods and 9% on all other services.

Health expenditure increased by 6% between 2017 and 2018 and by 19% between 2014 and 2018. 

The health spend was 13.1% of GDP in 2011, higher than the OECD average of 8.7%.

Pattern

This pattern continued until 2015, when a large increase in GDP led to the ratio in Ireland dropping to 8.5%, below the OECD average of 8.8%.

As GNI excludes globalisation effects, which disproportionally impact the measurement of the size of the Irish economy, it may be a more appropriate indicator to use, the CSO says.

Current health expenditure in Ireland, as a percentage of GNI, was 11.4% in 2018.