Press Release: Wednesday 7 October 2026
Budget 2027 delivers €29.1 billion for health services as Government continues investment in more care, closer to home
- Additional €1.76 billion will expand capacity, strengthen community services and accelerate reform across the health service.
- Expansion of Surgical Hubs, including additional theatres and six-day operations, helping more patients receive planned treatment sooner.
- More evening and weekend activity across theatres, outpatient clinics and diagnostics, making better use of existing staff, facilities and equipment.
- Additional hospital, community and mental health capacity will be opened and brought into operation.
- Continued expansion of healthcare training places to strengthen the future workforce.
- Expanded older persons and community supports, including additional home-support hours, dementia services and community-based care.
- Improved access to oral health and orthodontic services for children, including reducing waiting lists in the School Dental Programme and improving access to more complex dental treatment.
- Major expansion of community crisis mental health supports, with the Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse programme extended to all counties, two new rural Crisis Resolution Teams, and six additional out-of-hours ‘Solace’ peer-support cafés.
- Four new early intervention ‘Jigsaw’ youth mental health services extending coverage to 135,000 young people across six counties, and 40 additional clinicians for a new ADHD pathway and enhanced MHID capacity in CAMHS.
- Funding to support implementation of the new National Drugs Strategy.
- Phased introduction of a national shingles vaccination programme for eligible cohorts, helping to reduce illness and complications and improve public health outcomes.
- Cancer monitoring and follow-up will move closer to home, where clinically appropriate, through community-based care supported by the National Cancer Control Programme and the six Health Regions.
- Support for Men’s Sheds and other local initiatives will help strengthen wellbeing, inclusion and community connection.
- 1.8 million additional home-support hours and €2 million more for Meals on Wheels.
- Virtual care capacity will grow across all six Health Regions, with an additional virtual care option in each Region to reach patients earlier and help avoid Emergency Department visits or hospital admissions.
- Continued rollout of the HSE Health App, shared care records and ePrescribing, alongside progress on Ireland’s first national Electronic Health Record.
The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, the Minister for Mental Health, Mary Butler TD, the Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drug Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor TD, and the Minister for Older People, Kieran O’Donnell TD today announced a total health allocation of €29.1 billion for 2027. Building on sustained investment in recent years, Budget 2027 will increase capacity, strengthen community services and advance reform across the health service.
The allocation comprises €27.39 billion in current expenditure and €1.72 billion in capital investment, an increase of €1.6 billion and €160 million respectively on 2026.
The funding will help provide more timely care at home, in the community and in hospitals. It will enable additional evening and weekend activity, new capacity and fuller use of theatres, outpatient clinics and diagnostic equipment, while accelerating the growth of community services.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“Budget 2027 is about helping people in the here and now, while planning for the future. It builds on the progress made across our public health service in recent years. This €29.1 billion allocation is focused on what matters most to patients: earlier access, more care closer to home and better use of our staff, facilities and equipment.
“We will expand our Surgical Hubs, open additional hospital and community capacity, strengthen GP and pharmacy services and accelerate digital health.
“More planned care will also be provided in the evenings and at weekends, helping patients to be seen, diagnosed and treated sooner. Our priority is to ensure that the investment we are announcing today delivers clear, measurable improvement to services for people.
“Budget 2027 will also support a more responsive and efficient model of care by aligning the workforce with patient demand, reducing reliance on agency staffing and moving care to community, home-based and virtual settings. For people living with and beyond cancer, this will include providing suitable monitoring and follow-up closer to home, making care more convenient while protecting hospital capacity for those who need specialist treatment.”
Minister Butler said:
“Budget 2027 will significantly strengthen crisis care by investing in community-based services, making support more accessible to people in distress when they need it most. We are opening six new peer-support Solace Cafés, bringing the Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse programme to every county, and establishing two new specialist Crisis Resolution Teams.”
“For children and young people, we are continuing to invest in earlier intervention and better access to specialist care. We will open four new ‘Jigsaw’ youth mental health services extending access to 135,000 young people across six counties and create a new ADHD pathway in CAMHS so children can be assessed and treated earlier.”
Minister Murnane O’Connor said:
“Budget 2027 strengthens prevention, inclusion and community-based care. It will support implementation of the new National Drugs Strategy, expand drug and alcohol services and prevention initiatives, and improve healthcare for people experiencing homelessness and others who face barriers to accessing services.
“The allocation will support Sláintecare Healthy Communities, home STI testing, the HIV Action Plan, Tobacco Free Ireland 2035, Women’s Sheds and other local initiatives. It will also begin the phased introduction of a national shingles vaccination programme for eligible cohorts. Together, these measures will improve population health while directing additional support to communities with the greatest need.”
Minister O’Donnell said:
“The additional funding for older persons services will help people to age well, live independently and remain connected to their communities. It includes 1.8 million additional home-support hours in 2027, providing practical support to more older people in their own homes and easing pressure on families and carers.
“The increased funding for Meals on Wheels recognises that this service is about much more than delivering a nutritious meal. For many older people, it also provides regular contact, reassurance and a vital connection to their local community. Alongside further investment in dementia services, the Care and Repair Scheme, community-centre grants, family-carer supports, adult safeguarding, and the Healthy Age Friendly Homes programme, it will help more older people remain safely and independently at home.
“Additional funding has also been secured in Budget 2027 for the Nursing Home Support Scheme (NHSS) to support the nursing home sector with inflationary and statutory cost pressures and provide for 500 additional people to be supported under the NHSS. Long-term residential care is a crucial part of the overall continuum of care.
“We are also committed to continued investment in residential care through the opening of new beds in Community Nursing Units.”
Budget 2027 provides a range of targeted measures across primary care, prevention, medicines and workforce development. Alongside the funding allocated to the shingles vaccination programme, the budget also provides additional funding to support general practice reform, with a focus on more equal access to GP out-of-hours services across the six Health Regions. Budget 2027 will also fund a pilot scheme to support earlier access to new medicines for rare diseases.
Additional investment will improve access to oral health and orthodontic services for children, including action to reduce waiting lists in the School Dental Programme, while eligibility for free contraception will be extended from age 35 to 37. The Budget will also support the continued expansion of Ireland’s domestic healthcare training towards approximately 1,100 additional places by 2028, including places in nursing and midwifery, medicine, health and social care professions and GP training.
Investment will strengthen the National Ambulance Service and support a new programme to move clinically appropriate cancer monitoring and follow-up from acute hospitals into community settings. Combined with continued growth in virtual care, this will allow more patients to receive suitable care locally and preserve hospital capacity for emergency, complex and specialist treatment.
The €1.72 billion capital programme will deliver modern facilities, additional capacity and upgraded equipment nationwide. It will progress the National Children’s Hospital Ireland, the relocation of the National Maternity Hospital, Surgical Hubs, Elective Treatment Centres, a Perinatal Mother and Baby Unit, Adult Eating Disorder Regional Centres, and further community and acute hospital beds.