Official data shows life expectancy and self-reported health at record levels, but emergency department visits and outpatient attendances rising sharply as population ages
Ireland has recorded its highest ever life expectancy and retained the top position in the European Union for self-reported good health, according to an official report published on 18 May – but the data also reveals a health system under mounting pressure from a rapidly ageing and growing population whose demands on hospital services are rising faster than capacity can absorb them.
‘Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2025’, published by Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, shows that 80.4 per cent of men and 79.6 per cent of women in Ireland rate their health as good or very good, the highest rate in the EU for the fourth consecutive year.
Life expectancy reached 81.1 years for men and 84.6 years for women in 2023, with male life expectancy rising by more than two years since 2015. The overall mortality rate has fallen by 16.1 per cent over the past decade, with substantial reductions in deaths from cancer, heart disease and respiratory illness.
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