A vaccine against chickenpox will be introduced to the State’s vaccination programme, the free IVF scheme will be expanded, and there will be an additional 335 hospital beds as part of a suite of measures announced for the health service in Budget 2025.
There were a number of new measures announced in the area of women’s health.
Hormone replacement therapy, which is typically used to help relieve symptoms of menopause, will be made freely available from January 2025, resulting in potential savings to women of up to €840 per year.
Furthermore, access to free IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) will be expanded in two areas – to include donor assisted IVF and to assist couples experiencing “secondary infertility”, which is when couples have an existing child but are having fertility issues.
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The focus for the service in next year’s health budget is “being given to maintaining existing services”, in light of a growing and ageing population, according to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
The total health budget for 2025 is a record €25.76 billion, an increase of €2.94 billion over the January 2024 allocation of €22.82 billion.
Acute hospitals make up the largest proportion of healthcare expenditure, accounting for 39 per cent of the healthcare budget allocation in 2025.
There will be the delivery of 335 new acute beds, the development of two surgical hubs in Galway and Swords, and the provision of funding for 49 new consultant posts.
Funding has also been provided for the delivery of 455 replacement beds and 160 new community beds, which seek to divert patients from acute hospitals.
In terms of staffing, the workforce will grow by 3,346 in 2025, bringing the total number of whole-time equivalents (WTE) to 133,306.
Minister for Finance Jack Chambers also announced he was introducing an exemption from income tax, capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax on payments made to the women impacted by the failures in the CervicalCheck national screening programme.
Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said the additional funding “would support better financial planning” within the health service.
Additional funding will be provided for older people through the homecare and Fair Deal schemes, mental health services and social inclusion, and additional training places for GPs and nurses to enhance capacity of the frontline workforce.
There is an allocation of €1.46 billion for gross capital expenditure in 2025, an increase of €240 million (20 per cent) on the 2024 allocation.
According to the Government’s expenditure report, this increased investment has “supported the further development of Health ICT infrastructure, delivery of additional acute capacity and progression of major projects such as the new national children’s hospital, the National Maternity Hospital and elective hospitals”.
