Asthma Society urges action in Budget to address affordability of medication
Ireland has one of the highest asthma rates globally, with 450,000 people affected — the fourth highest per capita rate in the world.
Asthma imposes a heavy financial burden, with some medications costing up to €80 a month, and mortality and hospitalisation rates remain significantly higher than EU averages, with half of those with asthma showing signs of poor asthma control.
New survey data from the organisation shows that 24 per cent of respondents reported going without asthma medication at least once in the past three months because they couldn't afford it.
The Asthma Society is now urging the government to take decisive action in Budget 2026 to address the affordability crisis impacting people with asthma.
Further data shows more than half (56 per cent) experienced difficulties making ends meet, with a quarter of respondents (25 per cent) going into arrears on mortgage or rental payments, utility bills, hire purchase or other loan payments at least once over the previous 12 months.
Launching its Pre-Budget Submission 2026, Backing Every Breath, Building Better Care, the Asthma Society of Ireland is seeking urgent investment in three priority areas — affordable medication, expanded asthma care services and staffing, and targeted home energy upgrades to improve indoor air quality for people with asthma.
'The survey finding that so many people with asthma are having it difficult to make ends meet is, unfortunately, a surprise to no one in the asthma community,' said Eilís Ní Chaithnía, CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland.
'Asthma imposes a heavy financial burden, with some medications costing up to €80 a month.
'With a combination of targeted investment and taxation measures, we can bring asthma under control, reduce exacerbations, hospitalisations and preventable deaths, and improve quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland. But it will also require political will.
'An overwhelming majority (96 per cent) of those who responded to our survey said that they want the Government to take action in the upcoming Budget to reduce the financial burden of asthma on households.
'Simply put, they need this Government to make sure that they can take their asthma medications as prescribed, access specialist and diagnostic care when they need it, and live in homes that don't make them sick,' Ms Ní Chaithnía continued. Case Study
Emily Smyth, 33, was diagnosed with severe asthma in her early 20s.
Originally from Ballsbridge in Dublin, Emily experienced an episode of acute shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing.
A GP confirmed it was an asthma attack and referred her to a respiratory consultant.
'Today I am on biologic therapy, two daily inhalers and regular antibiotics,' Emily said.
She believes that patients have enough to cope with, without adding the unnecessary worry of not being able to afford medication:
'Managing asthma can be difficult and it can impact your life in so many ways,' said Emily.
'Medications enable us to manage symptoms and to live our lives. That's why it's so vital that the cost of treatment be addressed.
'Over 60 per cent of people in the Asthma Society's survey supported universal subsidisation of asthma medications, something I completely agree with," Emily said.
'As a healthcare professional myself, I'm also passionate about the need for specialist care for asthma.
'I'm extremely lucky to be under the wing of a severe asthma clinic team and the care that I have received has been truly incredible and has transformed my asthma management. An inhaler used for treating asthma (stock image) (Image: PA)
'Knowing that you have a team supporting you, who will ensure that you get the highest standard of care and specialist education is so important.
'However, access should not depend on where you live or be a 'postcode lottery'.
'Expanding specialist and diagnostic care would significantly improve the lives of people with asthma,' said Emily. Key Budget Asks
The submission includes detailed costings and proposals to: Phase in subsidisation of asthma medication, prioritising combination and preventer inhalers (€14 million in Budget 2026).
Reduce the Drugs Payment Scheme threshold by €8 and abolish prescription charges for medical card holders (combined cost of €84.5 million).
Fund a national Severe Asthma Registry (€500,000), recruit an Advanced Nurse Practitioner to every severe asthma clinic and reopen unfilled posts for Respiratory Physiologists around the country.
Expand the Warmer Homes Scheme, to provide free home energy upgrades for people with chronic respiratory conditions at risk of energy poverty (€29.5 million).
Invest in primary prevention through smoking cessation programmes (€29.05 million) and targeted vaccination.
For more information on the supports and services offered by the Asthma Society of Ireland, visit www.asthma.ie, or call the Asthma Adviceline to speak to an asthma specialist nurse or physio on Freefone 1800 44 54 64 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm).
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
‘People are really struggling': Cost pressures forcing asthma patients to cut back on medication, says Asthma Society
Nearly a quarter of respondents to a survey by the Asthma Society of Ireland have said they went without asthma medication in the previous three months because of its cost. Combination inhalers, the 'gold standard' for asthma control, cost between €65 and €85 each and are going up in price, ASI chief executive Eilís Ní Chaithnín told The Irish Times. 'It may seem manageable, but it's not for a quarter of the people who responded to our survey', said Ms Ní Chaithnín. 'People are really struggling.' This is especially acute at pinch points, such as the beginning of the new school term when people have extra household costs, she said. The ASI said the price of medication combined with cost-of-living pressures have caused an 'affordability crisis' for the estimated 450,000 people living with asthma in Ireland. READ MORE Of the 627 patients or their parents who respondent to ASI's survey, 56 per cent said they had experienced difficulties making ends meet. The cost burden on people with severe asthma, which requires much greater amounts of medication to control it, is even higher. 'That's €80 a month for the rest of my life, it's a financial commitment,' said Emily Smyth, who was diagnosed with severe asthma in her 20s and is a recipient of the drug payment scheme. '[Medication is] not something you can forgo safely. But people are backed into a corner and have to choose between paying their mortgage, their bills or their medication,' Ms Smyth said. [ Hay fever and asthma sufferers face more severe symptoms due to agricultural fertilisers - study Opens in new window ] ASI's submission describes 'systemic gaps' in asthma diagnosis and treatment which create a long-term financial burden from poorer health outcomes. The organisation is calling on the Government to allocate €14 million to subsidise asthma medications in 2026. Prof Marcus Butler, medical director at ASI, said subsidisation of inhalers was important because '[they] are proven to be extremely effective in controlling asthma and reducing symptoms which, of course, has a positive knock-on effect for the patient and the healthcare system.' 'The most recent CSO figures available to us show that 87 people died from asthma in 2022, with provisional figures indicating this trend has continued into 2023 and 2024. The majority of these deaths are preventable', he said. The society also suggests that the threshold for the drugs payment scheme be reduced by €8 to €72 and that prescription charges for medical card holders be abolished, at an estimated cost of €84.5 million to the exchequer. They want further attention to be paid to severe asthma patients and free home energy upgrades for people with chronic respiratory conditions at risk of energy poverty. 'By these relatively inexpensive measures the Government can enhance the lives of those hundreds of thousands [of asthma patients]. We've been calling on the Government for years to subsidise medication and today we're offering a very pragmatic approach," Ms Ní Chaithnín said. 'Financial barriers should never be a reason that we don't seek healthcare', Ms Smyth said. 'We should all have access to care, we should all have access to medication.'
Agriland
3 days ago
- Agriland
Time of Sampling May Affect Eu Soil Health Monitoring Study
An organisation that is building a comprehensive map of European soils and their condition is warning that the EU's Soil Monitoring Law may be omitting a vital factor in assessing soil health in the bloc. The EU plans to record and map the various soil types and soil health throughout the bloc, as envisaged through its proposed Soil Monitoring Law. The law will make the monitoring of soil health mandatory, as part of efforts to have all soils in a healthy condition by 2050, in line with the EU Zero Pollution ambition. Article 31 of the draft law states: "It is therefore appropriate to lay down criteria for sampling points that are representative of the soil condition under different soil types, climatic conditions, and land use." The three variables mentioned will play a vital role in deciding where soils should be sampled in the vast area that the EU covers. However, evidence is now emerging that a fourth variable should also be included and that is the time of sampling, which could significantly affect the results and render the overall picture inaccurate if not included. The warning comes from an article published by AI 4 Soil Health, an organisation which is building a comprehensive map of European soils and their condition. Soil sampling is the only way to really get to know a soil. Image: Petrol Post Driver The author, Dr. Peter Lehmann of ETH University Zurich, makes reference to a study carried out in Switzerland which notes how water-absorbing capabilities of soils can very throughout the year, depending on weather patterns. Although the research was carried out in natural forest, the findings indicate that all soils - wherever their location and use - will be subject to similar influences. If these factors are not included in the final analysis for monitoring soil health, then the AI $ Soil Health map will likely fail to be within the 5% margin of error required by the EU. The research demonstrated that the health of the soil can change significantly during dry summer months. A water repellent layer can form at the surface as the organic chemistry of this zone changes in response to prolonged drought. Soil can appear less healthy when dry Those tending the land are well aware of this affect, as a summer shower will often not be absorbed by the soil, it takes a good soak for the soil to start absorbing the water. It is the top 2cm that are responsible for this, which can give healthy, well-structured soil a water-resistant cap that adversely affects essential soil functions further on down the soil profile. A further aspect of the soil function studied was the action of two extracellular soil enzymes that play an important role in the decomposition of organic carbon compounds and how they might be affected by soil conditions. The study showed that one enzyme was more affected by the soil moisture while the other responded more to soil temperature,. This reinforced the notion that weather patterns can distort our present assessments of soil health, and may have been doing so for some time. The depth and type of cultivation may alter the soil's response to drought and so effect its apparent health Dr. Lehmann concluded that the timing of measurements is crucial and depends on which specific soil functions are being assessed. He also notes that another key lesson is the importance of where measurements are taken. "The top surface layer plays a critical role in determining whether a soil can provide essential services like water storage and support for plant growth, or whether it should be considered unhealthy." he notes. Just on this last point, the sun wheel-type implements that are sold as mechanical weeders here in Ireland are marketed as crust-breaking tools on the continent and said to work well as such when used in dry periods. Sun wheel implements will keep the layer of soil open for rain to penetrate. It is perhaps the disturbance of this water-repellent top layer of soil that is the secret to their success in drier areas of the EU, making them generally superfluous here in damper conditions.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Health workers see inclusion as central to caring for patients
Training to raise awareness of diversity and inclusion among medical workers is boosting the quality of services being delivered to patients, says Dr Suzanne Crowe, president of the Medical Council. Dr Crowe, who works in paediatric intensive care, says that an inclusive medical workforce leads to greater understanding of patients' needs, culturally competent care, and ultimately, better health outcomes for patients. Speaking during Cork Pride 2025, which runs from July 26 to August 3, Dr Crowe says that she welcomes Pride events, which allow us to pause and reflect on the importance of accepting people for who they are. In this Q&A interview, Dr Crowe outlines some of the areas in which Irish health service providers have been very positive in ensuring diversity and inclusion in how patients are cared for, while also highlighting a number of areas where further improvements would be beneficial, notably further supports to help doctors with a disability to carry out their work effectively. Does the Irish medical profession see itself as actively diverse and inclusive? I think the medical profession does see itself as diverse, and increasingly inclusive. Medicine as a profession welcomes people from all walks of life, and there is increasing diversity in terms of gender and sexuality, so I would see it as being inclusive in this sense. In my opinion, we've made a lot of progress over the last couple of decades in certain areas, particularly in diversity of ethnic backgrounds, as well as from a gender balance point of view. The profession is increasingly seeing equal numbers of men and women working in medicine, in fact, we're seeing a shift towards it being more female-dominated in some specialisms. Our most recent (2024) Medical Workforce Intelligence data shows that the gender split among GPs in Ireland had slightly more females (52.4%) than males (47.6%). The majority of female GPs are between the ages 30 and 59, and older age brackets from there and above are dominated by males. This suggests that as older male GPs retire, the proportion of females in general practice will continue to grow. As well as this, in 2024 our clinically active medical workforce consisted of 13.8% of doctors who qualified in the EU/UK, and 27.8% who qualified outside of Ireland, the EU and the UK — meaning that 41.6% of our medical workforce qualified outside of Ireland. Without these doctors, our health system would collapse immediately. An area that could be improved upon is for doctors with a disability. Further supports should be put in place for doctors with a disability to carry out their work effectively. Overall, the profession does regard itself as diverse and inclusive. In what ways does the sector's openness help with attracting and retaining talent? The healthcare sector is very active in attracting talent, both in Ireland and abroad. Doctors are united as protectors of health — of the individual, and the community; and Ireland is now seen as an open, democratic, and progressive society to live in. That's why a career in medicine in Ireland can be rewarding for those who have experienced trauma or marginalisation for their beliefs, and are seeking to contribute to an inclusive, modern society. While openness brings many benefits to medicine, it's worth noting areas that still need attention, such as long working hours, working environment, and conditions. We may be attracting talent, but need to ensure we're retaining our workforce in Ireland by providing a sustainable environment to work in. Do you believe there is a link between having a diverse workforce and safer patient outcomes? I believe there is. As doctors, we should ensure that we advocate for trust, partnership and informed consent in our relationships with patients. The Medical Council carried out research in 2023, which showed that 80% of people feel it is important to be treated as a partner in their healthcare by their doctor. What this essentially means is that patients want their doctor to be approachable — someone they can bring personal concerns to. This same survey showed that people in Ireland believe that the elderly (57%), members of the travelling community (34%), refugees (33%) and immigrants (32%) are among the minority groups most at risk of receiving substandard care. Members of minority groups have unique healthcare needs and may find it easier to speak to a doctor who comes from a similar background. If the patient can relate to their doctor, they'll feel understood, in a safe space, and like their care will be approached in a non-judgemental way. This helps patients feel safe in communicating with their doctor, which helps the doctor to personalise their treatment plan and direct it to specific issues. It can help the patient to follow their plan when there's a good relationship. All these elements combined help to enhance patient care and improve patient safety. Does training help promote a more actively diverse and inclusive approach to recruitment? Training our future workforce at an early stage to have an open, empathetic approach to people of different backgrounds helps ensure that Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) awareness is already part of their understanding when they start work. Discrimination and lack of understanding can impede the path to compassionate healthcare. Bringing DE&I awareness to students throughout the lifecycle of the doctor from school into undergraduate and postgraduate education; will help doctors to address potential biases. Not only do they then have the awareness, correct language, and training about DE&I, but they'll eventually look to recruit that diversity into their own teams, because they know it'll increase inclusion, produce better working environments, and ultimately enhance patient care when treating patients of different backgrounds. Celebrating Pride also provides chances to educate and to learn, promote awareness and increase understanding of issues faced by the LGBTQI+ community. We saw a great turnout of doctors and healthcare workers from the HSE and LGBT Ireland for the Dublin Pride Parade a couple of weeks ago, and I have no doubt the representation will be strong for Cork Pride as well. LGBT Ireland's LGBT+ Champions programme is available to doctors and healthcare professionals to help understand the identities and advocate for their LGBTQI+ patients. These are provided by LGBT Ireland, the HSE, post graduate training bodies, universities, advocacy groups and charities.
