Browsing onwards : Irish public spending in perspective

In the context of the current debate over standards of public services in Ireland and the appropriate level of public spending this paper reviews historical trends in Irish public expenditure, its relationship to GDP/GNP and comparisons with other EU states. The growth in Irish public spending has accelerated sharply in recent years. Since 1996 real public current expenditure (net of inflation) has grown by almost 70% and the figure for health is 136%. This rapid growth means that, on a per capita basis, public expenditure will be above the projected EU average for 2003 and health expenditure in particular will be amongst the highest per capita in the EU. Education expenditure will also be above the EU average. Assertions to the contrary would have been more accurate some years ago, but have been overtaken by the Irish spending explosion.