Spending on care services rose 1.6% last year to €94bn, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.

This is the lowest rise in 15 years and illustrates the impact of government policy, the CBS said in a statement. Spending on care accounts for 15.6% of GDP or €5,600 per head of the population.

The strongest rise – nearly 5% – was reported in spending on hospital and specialist medical services. This is partly because hospitals now have to fund some expensive medication themselves, the CBS said.

By contrast, spending on drugs in pharmacies fell by almost 5%.

Spending on care of the elderly and disabled accounts for some 30% of the budget. Spending on the elderly rose 2.4% and on the disabled 0.7%, the CBS said.

‘Regulations have become stricter: rates were lowered, the room for expenditure growth is limited and the compensation for transport costs was lowered,’ the organisation said.