Government to save €1.2Bn with spending review over five years

The government estimates that it can save €1.2Bn of waste by identifying inefficient and ineffective expenditure and looking at ways of making savings in the areas of public administration, heath and finances.

The savings are in the State Budget for 2026 and covers some 9% of eligible public expenditure corresponding to €10Bn.

The expenditure review is a budgetary exercise, in which the State’s base expenditure is analysed in detail and systematically with the objective of managing the aggregate level of expenditure, identifying measures which can make savings or reallocate funds, creating a budgetary margin, and improving the effectiveness of programmes and policies.

According to Ministry of Finances accounts, this exercise will enable annual savings of €184.1 million for 2024, and €84.7 million for 2025. For the next few years the gains will only increase with 2027 earmarked as the year in which the greatest savings will be made from this efficiency and prudential spending drive.

Since 2013, three expenditure review exercises have been carried out: one during the troika (2013-2014), one between 2016 and 2023, and one starting in 2023 and still ongoing. In the ongoing exercise, the first review round took place in 2024, with three areas: health (generic or biosimilar medicines, dialysis, and physical medicine and rehabilitation) and the Resource Efficiency Program in Public Administration.