The HSE paid at least €306m to just five private, for-profit companies for the provision of disability services in 2025, the Irish Examiner can reveal. The HSE estimated its funding for disability residential services at €1.7bn in 2024. He said: "Approximately €526m in 2025 to around 220 for-profit disability providers is a very significant sum. It does not show how much relates specifically to residential services, how much relates to children as against adults, or what the exact expenditure was. Roughly 16% of residential services are now provided by for-profits, a figure which has doubled in just the past five years.

Source: Irish Examiner March 27, 2026 11:03 UTC