Budget 2026 leaves questions over national cancer strategy funding, say campaigners

Thu, 09 Oct, 2025 - 07:30

Niamh Griffin Health Correspondent

The health budget has left vital questions unanswered, including how much can be spent on the national cancer strategy next year, commentators have warned.

Despite concerns about a lack of detail for some areas, patients in mental health crisis will benefit from new specialist nursing teams at evenings and weekends in large emergency departments. Other targeted changes include:

€82m for extra home support hours for older people, with 22% of the hours ringfenced for dementia;
€92m additional funding for the fair deal scheme;
An extra 300 mental health staff, including for children’s services;
€200,000 for an anti-vaping campaign with young people;
3,300 extra staff across the health services.

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill focused heavily on the need for hospitals and staff to work more efficiently.

“We cannot continue to spend more without spending smarter,” she said. She warned HSE health regions that she expects “increased productivity” locally.

The budget usually allocates money for strategies, including cancer or maternity services, at national level. However, she told the Irish Examiner: “There is an important shift this year.”

The funding will be allocated on a regional model, and she expects this will make it “more equitable”.

She did not give a figure for this budget, saying it will likely be “subject of much dialogue” over the next six weeks with the HSE.

The Irish Cancer Society said the lack of detail means Budget 2026 leaves cancer patients and clinicians with “more questions than answers”.

Steve Dempsey, the advocacy and communications director for the society, said the plans are “unclear”.

“Is the Government changing how the national cancer strategy works in its final year?” he asked.

“What does this mean for the national cancer control programme? And how will these decisions effect patients and healthcare workers?”

The budget of €27.4bn is a 6.2% increase on this year’s funding, but questions are already being raised over whether this is enough.

University College Cork health economist Brian Turner said: “I can understand the concerns about the increase not being enough to meaningfully expand services.”

He pointed out there is a supplementary budget for 2025, meaning: “The increase to this budget over the revised budget [for 2025] is 5.5%, which is just pretty close to what you need just to stand still.”

Mr Turner welcomed an increase of over 30% for meals on wheels funding, saying: “It keeps people out of the more expensive services.”

He questioned how much the health workforce will increase in light of plans to also slash agency spending.

Overall, he said: “In terms of health, it’s steady as she goes, not much to see here really. It’s fairly modest.

“There’s a little bit of an increase, but certainly not transformative.”

Minister of state for mental health Mary Butler described putting more mental health staff into hospitals as “a fundamental change”.

It is expected each new team will have eight to 10 staff, led by a psychiatrist.

It will benefit patients in Cork, Waterford, and Limerick among others. Tralee will get a Solace late-night crisis cafe, similar to that in Cork City.

Minister of state for older people Kieran O’ Donnell has €215m more in funding.

He expects dementia-specific beds will be included in the 280 new community beds announced.

Both Labour and the Social Democrats have questioned whether the budget is adequate to make major improvements to health services.

Budget 2026: Schools have a funding shortage and the price of everything is rising