Nursing costs, including home and residential care nursing, are set to more than double to €25bn a year by 2030, according to new calculations from the government’s socio-cultural advice group SCP.

In 2009, non-hospital nursing cost society €11bn, the organisation said.
The increase is due to the greying of the population.
However, while demand for nursing care will rise at a rate of 1.2% a year because people stay healthy longer, costs will go up 4.1%, largely due to increases in pay, the SCP said.