A new Irish study reveals a more than fourfold increase in adults receiving ADHD medication over the past decade, driven by greater awareness and expanding services amid rising prescriptions and spending.
A new Irish study suggests that ADHD treatment has become far more common in adults over the past decade, with prescribing levels rising sharply as awareness of the condition has widened and services have struggled to keep up. Research by Anthony Maher of the University of Galway, published in the Irish Medical Journal and based on data from the Irish Primary Care Reimbursement Service, found that the number of adults receiving ADHD medication through public schemes increased from 3,377 in 2015 to 13,966 in 2024. That is a rise of 314%, or more than fourfold, although the figures cover only people using public reimbursement schemes and therefore do not capture everyone paying privately.
The study also found that the volume of dispensed dosage units, meaning tablets or capsules, more than doubled over the same period, rising from 700,574 to 2,217,634. Methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine remained the main medicines prescribed, and the use of lisdexamfetamine alone rose by 504% between 2020 and 2023. Because the analysis counted units rather than the strength of each dose, it does not show how much medication each patient actually took, only that far more prescriptions were being filled.
The sharpest increase was among people aged 16 to 34, while the number of female patients grew quickly enough to nearly match the male figure over the 10 years. The Irish Times reported earlier this year that total ADHD prescriptions in Ireland also jumped over the previous five years, reinforcing the picture of rapidly rising demand across both adults and younger patients. Medical Independent has separately reported that spending on ADHD medicines under State schemes climbed by 30% in 2024 alone, reaching €9.2 million, as health services came under pressure from longer waiting times and growing numbers seeking assessment.
Maher said the findings should be viewed as a partial picture rather than a complete count of ADHD treatment in Ireland, but he said the trend likely reflects greater awareness and less stigma around diagnosis and medication. That interpretation broadly matches research from the UK and the United States, where studies have found rising diagnosis and prescribing rates without evidence that ADHD is being overdiagnosed at a population level. In Ireland, the expansion of adult ADHD services since 2021 has helped bring more people into care, but it has also exposed how limited provision was for years, particularly outside major cities.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
