OBJECTIVES: To analyse trends in reimbursement in Ireland to help in the planning of HTAs from an industry perspective. METHODS:  A database of all NCPE decisions and reimbursement for drugs from 2006 to April 2013 was developed from publically available NCPE reports and HSE websites. A descriptive analysis of the database was undertaken. RESULTS: From 2006 to April 2013 37% of drugs were reimbursed without a HTA and 63% were recommended for HTA (N=126). There were three HTAs undertaken in 2006 compared to 26 in 2012. High Tech (HT) drugs were more likely to attract a HTA compared to General Medical Services (GMS) drugs (83% vs. 51%). Of the HTAs completed, 57% resulted in a positive reimbursement recommendation within a median time from HTA submission to reimbursement of 7.9 months (min 3.9, max 16.3). The median time was 7.1 and 9.8 months for GMS and HT drugs respectively. Dominance almost perfectly predicted reimbursement; 83% reimbursed. Of the ICERs in the north-east quadrant, 54% resulted in a positive reimbursement recommendation (average ICER around €60,000/QALY). The cost per QALY for those not reimbursed in this quadrant was almost twice this at around €110,000. Finally, the average probability of cost effectiveness for reimbursed and non-reimbursed drugs were 60% and 30% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Companies can expect more requests for HTAs especially for HT drugs. When HTAs are requested the probability of success is around 60% with an expected timeline of 8 months from submission to launch. Budget impact does have an important role to play as dominance is a strong predictor of reimbursement. The average cost per QALY for reimbursed drugs is above the €45,000/QALY threshold but does not take into account confidential discounts under patient access schemes. Finally, the threshold probability of cost effectiveness seems to lie between 30% and 60%.