Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 March 2015
141. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health in view of recent statistics from the OECD which indicate that only 67% of health spending in the State is funded by Government revenue, if he will provide a detailed breakdown as to the proportion of the remaining 33% provided by out of pocket payments by persons and the proportion by private health insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9501/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraData on Ireland’s private health expenditure is derived and submitted to the OECD by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The most recent data provided by the CSO refers to 2012 and shows that private healthcare expenditure amounted to €4.718 billion. The CSO breaks down the expenditure into 3 categories - private insurance amounting to €1.949 billion (41%), out of pocket health expenditure amounting to €2.457 billion (52%) and capital expenditure in the private healthcare sector amounting to €0.312 billion (7%).
The CSO and the Department of Health are currently cooperating on a major initiative to produce more detailed annual public and private health expenditure data for Ireland based on the System of Health Accounts (SHA). Implementation of the SHA will enable more comprehensive reporting of health expenditure by provider, funder and types of care. Reporting to Europe under the SHA will be compulsory from 2016 onwards.
