Budget 2023: Free GP care for 400,000 additional people as part of €23.4bn healthcare package

Fiachra Gallagher

Main take-aways

• Over 400,000 more people eligible for free GP care
• Free contraception scheme is extended up to and including 30-year-olds
• Inpatient charges in hospitals scrapped
• Publicly funded IVF treated to launch in 2023

Free GP care will be extended to more than 400,000 people, including all six- and seven-year-olds by the end of 2022, and those on or below the "median level of income" as part of Budget 2023 measures announced by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath. The total investment plan for the State's healthcare system is worth €23.4 billion.

The new free contraception scheme has been extended to include all up to the age of 30.

All charges for public hospital inpatients will be scrapped.

A publicly funded IVF treatment system was announced by Mr McGrath.

An additional 6,000 staff will be recruited in a "wide range" of roles across the health systems as part of the healthcare package, while 650 new acute and community beds will be added to health service facilities by the end of 2023.

A further €225 million will be invested in "tackling waiting lists", Mr McGrath said, as part of the Government's waiting list action place.

€58 million will be invested in mental health services, while €138 million will be earmarked for disability services.

€5 million will be allocated to oral health service going forward, with a further once-off payment of €9 million to be invested this year as part of the Government's strategy to tackle waiting lists.

€150 million will be set aside for older persons, including 18 million in new measures for the Age Friendly Home Programme to support older people living at home.

The ongoing response to Covid-19 pandemic will receive €439 million. The funding will go towards "necessary" public health measure, such as PPE and test-and-trace facilities.

Mr McGrath said that this year's budget allows for the "continuation" of the "very high level" of investment in the State's healthcare system by Goverment.

Phil Ní Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, called for greater detail on how the €23 billion allocation will be spent.

"We need to ensure that money allocated to the Department of Health is spent to get staffing right, building up capacity and moving to the universal care model as envisioned by Sláintecare.

"While we know from Minister McGrath’s speech today that an additional 6,000 workers will be employed across the health sector, no specifics were offered when it comes to exactly how many nurses and midwives will be recruited.

"Recruitment and retention of nurses and midwives deserves a laser focus in the year ahead," she added.