Ireland's €22bn health budget needs to get bigger every year, expert says

The rising cost of cutting-edge medication, along with population growth and ageing, means that funding health services will become more challenging, the Doolin Memorial Lecture was told.

The €22.5bn health budget needs to get bigger every year because of increased demand from population growth, ageing, and the rising cost of cutting-edge medication, a leading health economist has said.

Dr Brian Turner, economist and senior lecturer at Cork University Business School, delivered the Doolin Memorial Lecture and warned that difficult decisions lie ahead around health budgeting.