{"id":987501951,"date":"2023-02-03T08:19:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T07:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/country\/ireland\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T05:03:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T04:03:26","slug":"ireland","status":"publish","type":"country","link":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/countries\/ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”!! PLEASE DO NOT EDIT !!!” _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ admin_label=”!!! PLEASE DO NOT EDIT !!!” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 1″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||1em||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]Ireland is a high-income country in north-western Europe that shares the island of Ireland with Northern Ireland. Ireland had a population of about 5.1 million people in 2022 and an average life expectancy of 82 years in 2021[1]<\/a><\/sup>. The Sl\u00e1intecare policy<\/a> underpins the current health system reform programme as it moves towards universal health coverage (UHC). The following background information on Ireland\u2019s health system is drawn from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][ba_gradient_heading title=”The health system: a mix of public and private providers and payers” html_tag=”h3″ primary_color=”#455A64″ secondary_color=”#455A64″ admin_label=”HEADING (50-60 characters)” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”||||||||” title_font_size=”26px” title_line_height=”1em” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/ba_gradient_heading][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 2 ” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe public health system is accessible to all residents\u201d; however, private health insurance (PHI) allows people to gain preferential access to some services and many public services have substantial waiting lists\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Department of Health provides overall stewardship, policy direction and performance oversight, and allocates the health budget. The Health Service Executive (HSE) is responsible for managing and delivering health and social care services. These are provided through its own hospitals and structures of Ireland\u2019s Community Healthcare Organisation. General practitioners (GPs), pharmacists and other health professionals are contracted, complemented by large voluntary hospitals and providers of social care.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 3″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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\u201c[A]ccess and associated charges for services in the public system are determined by an individual\u2019s circumstances. Some public health services are provided universally free of charge, such as maternal and infant care and immunizations\u201d. Approximately 36% of the population benefits from having medical cards for publicly funded services. The cards grant free access to some medical services, including GP services and hospital care, and the cards lower costs for prescription medicines. While the remaining 64% of the population does not benefit from medical cards, \u201csome households may qualify for a GP visit card (10%), granting free GP care but requiring payments for all other services in the public system. GP visit cards are also provided to children under 6 and adults above 70. Around 46% of the population [has] PHI with another 20% not covered by a medical card, a GP visit card or PHI\u201d [2]<\/a><\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

[\/et_pb_text][ba_gradient_heading title=”Funding and health expenditure in Ireland” html_tag=”h3″ primary_color=”#455A64″ secondary_color=”#455A64″ admin_label=” HEADING (50-60 characters)” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”||||||||” title_font_size=”26px” title_line_height=”1em” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/ba_gradient_heading][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 4 ” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||1em||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]Ireland\u2019s national health service is primarily funded through general taxation[3]<\/a><\/sup>. Health care expenditure peaked above 10% of GDP between 2009 and 2013. This percentage decreased sharply in 2015 to 7.3% and remained around the same, at 6.7% in 2021, which is lower than the European Union (EU) average (above 9.8% since 2009)[4]<\/a><\/sup>. Ireland\u2019s per capita health expenditure has been above the EU average since 2000, reaching US$ 6092 in 2020, while the EU average was US$ 3735[5]<\/a><\/sup>. Public sources comprised 78.4% of health expenditure (2021)[6]<\/a><\/sup>, slightly below the EU average (81.1% in 2021)[7]<\/a><\/sup>. Out-of-pocket (OOP) payments as a percentage of total expenditure on health peaked at 14.3% in 2014 and have improved \u2013 only 10.3% in 2021[7]<\/a><\/sup>, which is lower than the EU average of 14.5%[3]<\/a><\/sup>. Ireland has made strides to expand eligibility to free services. Measures are being taken to alleviate waiting lists in public[3]<\/a><\/sup>.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”TEXT – BLOCK 9 – Footnotes” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”13px” custom_margin=”20px||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/span> \u201cIreland.\u201d World Bank Open Data<\/a>. Accessed 4 June 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/span> European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. Ireland Health System Information: Country Overview<\/a>. Accessed 5 June 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/span> OECD. Ireland: Country Health Profile 2023. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development<\/a>, 2023. OECD iLibrary.<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]<\/span> \u201cCurrent health care expenditure (% of GDP) \u2013 Ireland, European Union\u201d<\/a>. World Bank Open Data. Accessed 4 June 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/span> \u201cCurrent Health Expenditure per Capita (Current US$) \u2013 Ireland, European Union\u201d<\/a>. World Bank Open Data. Accessed 4 June 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

[7]<\/span> \u201cDomestic General Government Health Expenditure (% of Current Health Expenditure) \u2013 Ireland, European Union\u201d<\/a>. World Bank Open Data. Accessed 5 June 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] <\/span>\u201cOut-of-Pocket Expenditure (% of Current Health Expenditure) \u2013 Ireland\u201d<\/a>. World Bank Open Data. Accessed 5 June 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ireland is a high-income country in north-western Europe that shares the island of Ireland with Northern Ireland. Ireland had a population of about 5.1 million people in 2022 and an average life expectancy of 82 years in 2021[1]. The Sl\u00e1intecare policy underpins the current health system reform programme as it moves towards universal health coverage…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":987536753,"template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country\/987501951"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/country"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country\/987501951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987701428,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country\/987501951\/revisions\/987701428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/987536753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=987501951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}