At the height of the recession, Ireland spent about €20bn on social welfare. Today, that figure is about €28.9bn. An increase of roughly 45%.

@DaireONeill24 Inflation adjusted, it's about the same. A big chunk of it is pensions, and that is heavily driven by an ageing population.

@JustAnAlgorithm @DaireONeill24 A big chunk of it is pensions? €7.5b is roughly 25% of the budget. 35% (€10b) is spent on illness,disability and caring. Jobseekers is €3b Housing is €2.5b Children and family is €5b