Northern Ireland’s Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly; Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler; and Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drug Strategy, Colm Burke, have announced a record €25.8bn health budget to support the continued delivery and expansion of quality, affordable healthcare services in 2025.

The funding represents an overall increase of €2.94bn on the January 2024 allocation, recognising the challenges of inflation and the increased demand on services due to a growing and ageing population.

It will provide for more than 3,300 additional staff in health and social care services, deliver 335 additional hospital beds, expand services, deliver increased productivity, and continue the reductions in waiting lists and trolley numbers.

The budget for 2025 also includes significant increases on 2024 in areas such as:

• Acute hospitals (up 22% to €9.9bn)
• Mental health (up 10% to a record €1.48bn)
• Older persons services (up €349m to €3bn)
• Palliative care (up 13% to €179m)
• National Ambulance Service (up 13% to €280m)

The 2025 health budget also includes €1.2bn allocated for existing level of service, €1.5bn additional funding for 2024 pressures, and €335m in additional new measures.

Highlights include:

• €49.5m to provide 335 more hospital beds
• €33m to develop cancer services including full funding for the National Cancer Strategy
• €21.5m additional funding to increase home support hours to 24 million in 2025
• Investment of €30m in new medicines through increased savings in the medicines budget
• €35m women’s health package including provision of free Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and expanded access to Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) services
• €6mi to expand injury units

And the budget includes €900m of funding, initially introduced for one-off measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, that has now been made permanent.

This will allow permanent funding to continue to reduce waiting lists.

€420 million has been allocated to the HSE and NTPF in 2025 for waiting list initiatives, a €60m increase on 2024 funding.

Minister Donnelly said: “Investment in our health service is now at its highest level in the history of the State.

Equitable care

“The budget for 2025 sees an increase of almost €3bn on 2024, supporting the continued expansion and delivery of quality services as we continue to ensure everyone is able to get the healthcare they need, when they need it.

“Whether it’s an appointment with a GP, a home care package for a loved one, an X-ray or MRI, quick access to emergency care, or a minor injury unit, an appointment with a hospital consultant or surgery, the budget is all about making this a reality for more and more patients and families.

“We are living longer and living better, but our growing and ageing population place additional demands on our services.

“We continue to respond to these challenges and we are placing a strong focus on more productivity alongside investment in increased capacity and in workforce planning to ensure we can meet the needs of our healthcare service into the future.”

The budget marks the fifth consecutive year that an increase in funding has been provided to develop and support mental health services – an increase of 43.7% over the lifetime of the current government.

Butler said: “The mental health funding I have secured today will make a real and tangible contribution to the enhancement of mental health services in this country.

“This record investment will support further developments in youth mental health supports, the national clinical programmes, and the continued rollout of Sharing the Vision and Connecting for Life, our national mental health and suicide reduction policies.

“In this year’s mental health budget, I have been able to put a clear focus on children’s mental health, and I have particularly targeted initiatives that support children and young people as they transition from child to adult mental health services, to ensure they can continue to access the supports that they need.”

Supporting older people

For Older Persons Services, year-on-year funding has increased by €349m, with additional funding secured for home support hours, nursing homes, and dementia.

Minister Butler said: “Our older people’s budget is now almost €3bn.

“I have secured over €120m for our home support services to help older people live in their own homes for as long as possible. This means we will be able to deliver 24 million home support hours to almost 60,000 people in 2025.

“Since taking office, dementia supports have been a priority for me, and this focus continues in the budget, with ringfencing of 20% of new home support hours for dementia, more dementia advisers, and expanded diagnostic services.

“I have also secured an extra €72m for nursing homes to support the Fair Deal scheme and help our nursing homes to meet rising costs.

“And there will also be additional funding for the Carer’s Guarantee, to help us provide a package of supports to family carers in every region.”

Drugs initiatives will be boosted by €4.2m, with a focus on expansion of community drug and alcohol treatment centre services to respond to increased demand.

Prevention is better than cure

Ans €1m has been allocated for the national rollout of integrated community alcohol treatment services, ensuring full geographic coverage across all health regions.

A further €500,000 will fund a national drug prevention and public health awareness programme in collaboration with community partners.

Burke said: “Drug addiction affects not just those who use drugs, but also their families and their communities, so it is vital that we provide addiction services and supports wherever they are needed.

“I am delighted therefore to have secured €2m to further develop our community-based drugs services.

“Of course, prevention is our primary aim, so I’m very pleased to have secured funding for awareness campaigns and harm reduction initiatives to help protect our young people from the harms associated with drug use.”

The budget also provides for initiatives to protect and improve population health.

€1.2m will support the extension of the Healthy Communities programme to an additional four areas in 2025, reaching an additional 100,000 people.

And, in line with the Government’s commitment to create a tobacco-free Ireland, and recognising the link between youth vaping and tobacco smoking, a vaping awareness campaign will be delivered, targeted at 12–17-year-olds.

Additional resources are also being allocated to improve breastfeeding supports, including lactation consultants and provision of breast pumps for mothers of pre-term and sick infants.