The Government has announced additional €11 million in recurring funding for drugs and inclusion health services in Budget 2026.
According to the Department of Health, the allocation includes €4m for service enhancement measures and will address regional disparities in availability of drug and inclusion health services, “with a strong focus on the provision of services in disadvantaged and rural areas”. It also aims to enhance prevention measures, including through early intervention measures to improve child health and wellbeing.
“The additional funding I have secured for 2026 will address disparities in the availability of and access to drugs and inclusion health services across the six HSE health regions,” said Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor.
“We are paving the way for the implementation of our new national drugs strategy, expanding capacity in services all across the country and rolling out successful pilot initiatives to new areas.”
Separately Minister for Older People Kieran O’Donnell announced that there will be an increase of €215 million for older persons services in 2026, representing a rise of over a 7.1 per cent increase on 2025.
“I am delighted to have secured significant additional for older persons services,” said Minister O’Donnell. “This makes Budget 2026 the largest ever budget for older persons services with over €3 billion allocated to maintain and further enhance older persons services in 2026”.
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