Last updated: June 2026
Epilepsy Ireland’s vision is to achieve a society where no person’s life is limited by epilepsy.
We work towards this vision by providing community-based support & education programmes; providing training to health and allied health professionals; improving public understanding of epilepsy; advocating on behalf of those affected by epilepsy and supporting Irish research to help better understand and treat the condition.
We are grateful for all funding and donations we receive to enable us to meet these objectives and we recognise that public trust in our work and performance is essential. We are committed to providing a high level of accountability and transparency about how we raise and spend our funds.
In 2025, as per the audited accounts for the year (the latest currently available), our total income was €2,324,540. This includes €11,242 in non-cash (in-kind) donations.
Of the total income, €839,710 (36%) was in Section 39 grants from the Health Service Executive, which includes additional funding of €30,543 received from HSE to meet commitments under the 2023/2025 WRC pay agreements for all Section 39 staff. This statutory funding is operated under seven regional Healthcare Provider Specific Requirements (formerly called Service Level Agreements) and we provide detailed annual reports to the HSE for each of these agreements.
Pobal funding through the Support Scheme for National Organisations was the only non-HSE source of state funds in 2025, amounting to €84,626.
We require additional funding from other sources in order to continue to provide our services and in 2025, €935,445 was raised through donations, memberships and legacies. This includes the non-cash donations of €11,242, as well as a total of €123,388 in bequests received during the year. €194,453 was raised through other trading activities that included raffles, lotteries, campaigns, appeals and fundraising events. There was non-government grant income of €210. Total ‘cash’ fundraising income was therefore €1,118,876. 2025 was the first year that the charity’s fundraising income has exceeded €1 million.
Income generating services including training services accounted for €220,535 of our income, a slight decrease on the previous year. Miscellaneous income and interest received totalled €49,551.
In accordance with our policy on working with pharmaceutical & medical device industries, Epilepsy Ireland discloses all contributions from this sector. In 2025, we received the following contributions, which are included in donations:
- UCB Biopharma SRL; €50,000 to support our Time Safe Stay seizure first-aid awareness campaign and seizure-safe schools campaign.
- Angelini Pharma; €58,902 to fund our Youth Resource Officer role.
- Neuraxpharm Ireland; €10,000 towards the cost of providing our training services.
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals UK Limited; €4,983 towards producing and editing an educational video for SUDEP Action Day.
Our total expenditure in 2025 was €2,064,790, an increase of 15.8% on the previous year. This meant that a surplus of €259,750 was recorded.
82% of all expenditure in 2024 went to direct charitable objectives, which consists of information & support (43%); training & education (17%); awareness raising (14%); advocacy (6%) and epilepsy research (2%). 18% of total expenditure was utilised in raising funds. It is our belief that we extract maximum value for people with epilepsy, from every euro that we spend.
The nature of our work, providing personalised support services to people with epilepsy and their families is highly dependent on direct staffing resources. We employ skilled, experienced service and training staff to deliver on our objectives in these areas, supported by professional expertise in fundraising and administration. In 2025, the average number of employees was 26 (an increase of 3 from 2024), comprised of 18 in service delivery & training and 8 in administration & fundraising.
64% of all expenditure was pay-related in 2025, a slight decrease from 65% the previous year. The average salary paid was €50,543 per WTE. No additional payments or bonuses of any kind are paid to Epilepsy Ireland employees apart from employer pension fund contributions (€72,303). We report on all salaries over €60,000 in bands of €10,000 as per the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for Charities. In 2025, one employee earned between €90,000 and €100,000; one employee earned between €70,000 and €80,000 and three employees earned between €60,000 and €70,000. Our Board members and members of our sub-committees are all volunteers who donate freely their time, skills and experience.
At the end of 2025, Epilepsy Ireland held total funds of €2.06m (€1.79m at the end of 2024). €351,278 is held as restricted funds to be used for specific agreed purposes, including the funding of epilepsy research and a new service to reimburse the cost of seizure-monitoring devices for hospital-referred patients. €678,424 is held for purposes designated by the board, including expanding support services, organising awareness campaigns such as #EpilepsyDay and implementing the strategic plan. The remaining €1.02m is held as a general operational reserve, in line with our agreed reserves policy to hold at least 6 months operating costs as reserves.
Epilepsy Ireland publishes audited accounts and an annual report each year. Since 2014, our financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for charities and the FRS 102 accounting standard.
Forvis Mazars have acted as our statutory auditors since 2022.
If you have any questions on our use of funds, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@epilepsy.ie.
