asked the Minister for Health the amount of money spent in each of the last ten years on mental handicap in Ireland; and the annual percentage figure this constituted as a fraction of GNP.
Written Answers. - Mental Handicap Expenditure.
564.
The information requested is contained in the following table:
Expenditure on Health Devoted to the Mentally Handicapped.
|
Year |
Non-Capital |
Capital |
Total |
% of G.N.P. |
|
£M |
£M |
£M |
||
|
1972/'73 |
8.50 |
1.58 |
10.08 |
0.44 |
|
1973/'74 |
10.58 |
1.42 |
12.00 |
0.44 |
|
1974 (9 months) |
10.62 |
1.42 |
12.04 |
0.41 |
|
1975 |
17.93 |
2.05 |
19.98 |
0.54 |
|
1976 |
21.23 |
1.38 |
22.61 |
0.50 |
|
1977 |
26.04 |
1.40 |
27.44 |
0.51 |
|
1978 |
34.04 |
2.15 |
36.19 |
0.58 |
|
1979 |
41.33 |
3.52 |
44.85 |
0.62 |
|
1980 |
56.03 |
6.56 |
62.59 |
0.75 |
|
1981 (Estimate) |
67.00 |
5.37 |
72.37 |
0.72 |
Note (1) The information relates to the budgets of health boards and other agencies and not to the actual allocations from the Department's Vote.
Note (2) There is an element of estimation in the figures to include the cost attributable to the care of the mentally handicapped in psychiatric hospitals. The figures do not include any provision for the general range of health services which mentally handicapped people avail of but which are not specifically designed for them.