The most recent data on total expenditure on health in Ireland, which includes both public and private, refers to 2010 and is compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This indicates total expenditure of €14,334 million of which €9,964 million relates to public expenditure and €4,370 million to private expenditure. The latter figure includes expenditure on private health insurance (€1,817 million) and out-of pocket expenses (€2,489 million). Further breakdown on types of private health expenditure are not routinely available from the CSO.
In the interpretation of these figures it should be noted that the OECD data differs from the Revised Estimates figures for funding of the health group of Votes. e principal reason for this is that, to enable international comparability, the OECD excludes spending on a range of matters such as personal social services. It includes a much smaller amount related to spending by the Department of Social Protection on medical benefits. The Revised Estimates for the Public Services show expenditure for the health group of Votes in 2010 of €15,178 million.
