Taxpayers face €13bn black hole by 2030, officials warn

Health and pension costs created by an increasingly ageing population would add an additional €7 billion to the country’s spending bill each year by 2030

Officials in Paschal Donohoe’s department warned that “enormous” costs associated with a rapidly ageing population were on the way with the number of those aged 65 or older set to grow significantly faster than the numbers in work. Picture: Rollingnews

Taxpayers face having to fill a potential €13 billion black hole in the public finances by the end of the decade as Ireland’s ageing population puts significant strain on the country’s economic resources and existing tax revenues ebb away, a new report has warned.

The stark warning, which comes as the government last week moved to address the pensions timebomb by unveiling a new auto-enrolment scheme, was contained in a submission from the Department of ...