An additional 8,000 healthcare staff to be recruited

Some €10.5m is to be provided for an extra 19 critical care beds, bringing the total number of ICU beds to 340.

The most urgent health priority under Budget 2022 will involve immediate actions to address waiting lists which are now at an all-time high.

An extra 8,000 healthcare staff will be recruited next year, bringing the total workforce to 144,000.

Some €10.5m is to be provided for an extra 19 critical care beds, bringing the total number of ICU beds to 340. This is an increase of 85 beds since the start of the pandemic.

A further €8m will be pumped into modernising the National Ambulance Service and €22m is being provided for additional Winter Plan measures during 2022.

Health will receive an extra €1bn in core current funding next year, including €300m for new measures. When capital and Covid provision is taken into account, the total health expenditure will be €22.2bn.

In an effort to address "unacceptably high" waiting lists, an additional allocation of €250m, comprised of €200m to the HSE and €50m for the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has been allocated.

A number of measures specially targeting women's health are to be rolled out next year.

These include making contraception freely available to women aged between 17 and 25 and increased investment in a new approach to menopause care.

In his budget speech, Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath said: "One of the most important legacies we can leave following this pandemic is a reformed public health service that provides for the people of this country based on medical need regardless of income".

Among the measures aimed at achieving this are:

• An extension of free GP care to children under the age of seven;
• A lowering of the Drug Payment Scheme threshold to €100;
• A €30m package for new drugs to ensure patients have access to the best high-tech drugs available across the world;
• An extra €105m for disability services.