In 2023, €63.5 billion was spent on social protection in Ireland, 7% more than in 2022.
Temporary protection applicants, due to the war in Ukraine, accounted for the large percentage increase in the area of housing since 2022, up from €2.7 billion to €3.6 billion in 2023.
Spending on sickness/healthcare and old age continued to account for the largest proportion of social protection expenditure in 2023 at 70% of the total.
Countries neighbouring Ukraine (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria) saw the largest percentage increase in social protection expenditure per capita in the European Union.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (16 December 2024) published Social Protection Expenditure in Ireland 2023.
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 €63.5 billion in 2023, based on preliminary estimates. Compared with 2022, this was an increase of €4.3 billion or 7.2%. 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 (+€2 billion) and housing (+€0.9 billion).
International Comparison
The impact of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine can be seen in the percentage increase in social protection expenditure per capita in countries neighbouring Ukraine. Poland saw the largest increase at 23%, followed by Slovakia (19%), and Hungary (18.7%).
The funding of social protection varies considerably across Europe. For some countries (e.g. Denmark, Malta, and Ireland) contributions directly from government form the main component of social protection scheme receipts. While in others (e.g. Slovakia and Estonia) employers’ social contributions make up the main source of scheme receipts.
Social Protection Schemes
The Public Health scheme is the largest scheme in terms of expenditure (€24.5 billion or 39% of the total), followed by Department of Social Protection (DSP) Voted Expenditure (€13.5 billion or 21%), the Social Insurance Fund (€12.2 billion or 19%), Government Employment (€5.9 billion or 9%), and Private Occupational Pensions (€4.1 billion or 6%). The remaining two schemes are small in comparison: the housing scheme accounted for €2.2 billion or 3% of expenditure while the spend on the Child Protection scheme was €1 billion or 2% of expenditure.”