Last Updated: June 2025
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 2024, as per the audited accounts for the year (the latest currently available), our total income was €1,969,738. This includes €17,112 in non-cash (in-kind) donations.
Of the total income, €822,867 (42%) was in Section 39 grants from the Health Service Executive, which includes additional funding of €72,719 received from HSE to meet commitments under the WRC pay agreement reached in 2023 for all Section 39 staff. This statutory funding is operated under seven regional service level agreements (SLAs) and we provide detailed annual reports to the HSE for each of these agreements.
We require additional funding from other sources in order to continue to provide our services and in 2023, €619,091 was raised through donations, memberships and legacies. This includes the non-cash donations of €17,112, as well as a total of €157,500 in bequests received during the year. €6,250 was raised through non-government grants. €145,615 was raised through other trading activities that included raffles, lotteries, campaigns, appeals and fundraising events. Total ‘cash’ fundraising income was therefore €753,844. Fundraising income increased by 20% in 2024 compared to 2023, completing its recovery from the difficult Covid-19 affected years of 2020 and 2021.
Income generating services including training services accounted for €240,282 of our income, a 16% increase on the previous year. Non-SLA grants, including HSE National Lottery funding and the Pobal Support Scheme for National Organisations amounted to €89,993. This was significantly lower than in previous years mainly due to the discontinuation of the Training For Success programme in 2023. Investment & other income was €45,640 in 2024.
Our total expenditure in 2024 was €1,783,141, an increase of 3.5% on the previous year. This meant that a surplus of €186,597 was recorded.
83% of all expenditure in 2024 went to direct charitable objectives, which consists of information & support (41%); training & education (17%); awareness raising (13%); advocacy (6%) and epilepsy research (6%). 17% 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 2024, the average number of employees was 23 (20 WTE – whole time equivalents), comprised of 16 in service delivery & training and 7 in administration & fundraising.
65% of all expenditure was pay-related in 2024, the increase from 59% reflecting the implementation of the WRC pay agreement for Section 39 employees negotiated by the Government and Trade Unions in 2023, and also an increase in staffing levels by one during the year.
The average salary paid was €50,048 per WTE. No additional payments or bonuses of any kind are paid to Epilepsy Ireland employees apart from employer pension fund contributions (€65,007). We report on all salaries over €60,000 in bands of €10,000 as per the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for Charities. In 2024, one employee earned between €90,000 and €100,000; one employee earned between €70,000 and €80,000 and two 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 2024, Epilepsy Ireland held total funds of €1.79m (€1.61m at the end of 2023). €118,000 is held as restricted funds to be used for specific agreed purposes. €580,000 is held for purposes designated by the board, including organising awareness campaigns such as #EpilepsyDay, supporting research and implementing the strategic plan. The remaining €1.01m 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.
