2026 estimates
Gross voted and non-voted expenditure as published for 2026. These are estimates rather than fully audited 2026 actual spending figures.
WHERE'S MY MONEY? · SPENDING ATLAS
Where does Ireland's public money go?
Explore each major government spending sector directly on Compound. These are original charts built from published Irish government figures — not embeds or links to someone else's graphs.
2026 expenditure estimate€133.0bn
Budget 2027 expenditure estimate€143.0bn
Change across estimates+€10.0bn
Both years are estimates, not completed spending. Changes in department responsibilities can affect comparisons.
01 / EXPENDITURE BY SECTOR
Follow the money, one sector at a time.
The bars compare the eight published sector totals for 2026. Select any category for its own explanation, year-on-year chart, service areas and related Compound pages. Explore 49 separately sourced 2026 programme allocations → Or compare exact departmental Vote supply grants →
01Social protection€28.9bn
21.7% of estimated 2026 spendingView social protection detail →
02Health€27.4bn
20.6% of estimated 2026 spendingView health detail →
03Education€13.5bn
10.2% of estimated 2026 spendingView education detail →
04Housing€11.4bn
8.6% of estimated 2026 spendingView housing detail →
05Justice€6.3bn
4.7% of estimated 2026 spendingView justice detail →
06Transport€4.8bn
3.6% of estimated 2026 spendingView transport detail →
07Debt servicing and EU payments€15.6bn
11.7% of estimated 2026 spendingView debt servicing and eu payments detail →
08Additional departments€25.1bn
18.9% of estimated 2026 spendingView additional departments detail →
2026 total of €133.0bn. Rounded source figures are used consistently; charts are generated by Compound rather than hosted elsewhere.
02 / YEAR-ON-YEAR
How spending plans are changing.
Budget 2027 amounts are proposed estimates. This comparison shows the published headline figures, not the outcome of spending or a like-for-like inflation-adjusted measure.
| Sector | 2026 estimate | 2027 estimate | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social protection | €28.9bn | €31.0bn | +2.1bn |
| Health | €27.4bn | €29.1bn | +1.7bn |
| Education | €13.5bn | €14.4bn | +0.9bn |
| Housing | €11.4bn | €11.9bn | +0.5bn |
| Justice | €6.3bn | €5.9bn | -0.4bn |
| Transport | €4.8bn | €5.6bn | +0.8bn |
| Debt servicing and EU payments | €15.6bn | €19.1bn | +3.5bn |
| Additional departments | €25.1bn | €26.0bn | +0.9bn |
| Total estimated expenditure | €133.0bn | €143.0bn | +€10.0bn |
Totals and differences use rounded headline figures. Some sector changes may reflect transfers of departmental functions, not simply new spending.
03 / PUT IT IN CONTEXT
What does your tax receipt imply?
The figures below are proportional equivalents, not actual tax payments allocated to these areas. Enter the payroll taxes and PRSI from your personal tax receipt to explore.
Based on 2026's sector share of €133.0bn in total estimated public expenditure.
04 / TRANSPARENT SOURCES
What these figures mean — and don't.
Budget 2027
Proposed spending in the Budget 2027 dataset. They must not be described as money already spent in 2027.
Different accounting boundaries
Housing was previously grouped with Additional Departments, and transfers of responsibilities can disrupt historical sector comparisons.
Sourced programme allocations
Compound has a separate register of 49 officially published allocations. Some are overlapping or incremental Budget measures, so they are displayed individually and never summed into a fabricated sector breakdown. Explore the programme register →
Sources used to build the charts: 2026 official sector totals, Budget 2027 totals, and official scope and methodology. Data checked 2026-11-13. Links are for provenance; all displayed charts are built and hosted by Compound.
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