Ireland spent more than €11k per person on social protection in 2021

'There was a decrease in the unemployment function (-€1.2bn on 2020) largely due to a reduction in PUP as public health restrictions were relaxed and people returned to work.' File picture: Denis Scannell

Ireland spent €11,348 on social protection for every person in the country in 2021, new statistics have revealed, as spending on sickness/healthcare benefits represented about 40% of the €59.1bn spend.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said Covid-fuelled social protection spending was again a feature in 2021 but, compared to 2020, it was not temporary schemes such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, which saw the biggest increases to the welfare bill.

Social Protection Expenditure was €59.1 billion in 2021https://t.co/ykKB9yoZaM#CSOIreland #Ireland #SocialProtection #SocialProtectionExpenditure #Government pic.twitter.com/5xaPqCPpus

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) January 9, 2023

“Looking at the spending by function, the increase in expenditure is predominantly in the sickness function (+€1.6bn on 2020) and old age function (+€0.7bn on 2020),” the CSO said.

“On the other hand, there was a decrease in the unemployment function (-€1.2bn on 2020) largely due to a reduction in PUP as public health restrictions were relaxed and people returned to work. Over the period, expenditure on sickness and old age functions represented the largest proportion of expenditure at approximately two-thirds.” 

Welfare spend was primarily funded by central Government funding, coming in at 63% of the overall bill, followed by 24% from social contributions by employers and a further 11% from social contributions by households.

Under the heading of sickness/healthcare spend, this came to €23.6bn and covers a whole host of schemes such as the additional needs payment, carer’s allowance, illness benefit and the medical card scheme.

Payments classed under a heading of “old age”, such as the State pension, had expenditure of €15bn in 2021.

Social protection spending on housing supports rose by nearly €700m from 2016, standing at €2.24bn at the end of 2021.

Payments related to unemployment fell from €7.2bn in 2020 to €6.1bn a year later.

Compared to our European counterparts, Ireland spends an above average amount on social protection per person.

Ireland reported the fourth largest increase in social protection benefits at 18%, according to the CSO, with its spend of just over €11,300 per person. 

After Cyprus, Estonia and Romania, Ireland also had the largest increase in expenditure related to unemployment between 2019 and the pandemic era, rising 232%.