Minister for Health publishes Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2025
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 18 May 2026
- Last updated on: 18 May 2026
The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD has today published Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2025. The publication highlights the significant improvements Ireland has made in health outcomes and outlines the challenges that remain in ensuring timely and efficient access to healthcare across the population. It provides important background and context for the Department of Health’s work in developing legislation, policy, and strategies to address these issues.
The report examines trends across demographics, population health, hospital and primary care, health service employment and expenditure, and child and adolescent health, and presents a comprehensive picture of how Ireland’s health service has evolved over time.
For the fourth year in a row, Key Trends reveals that Ireland has the highest self-reported health status in the EU, with 80.4% of males and 79.6% of females rating their health as good or very good.
The report also shows that the overall mortality rate has fallen by 16.1% in the last decade, with substantial reductions in deaths from cancer, circulatory system diseases, ischaemic heart disease and respiratory system diseases.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“People in Ireland are living longer lives, with continued reductions in mortality from many of the major causes of death over the past decade. We have the eighth highest life expectancy in the EU, and the highest rate of self-reported good health. This report reflects the impact of sustained investment in our health service and the dedication of those working across it.
“At the same time, our population is growing and ageing and demand for health services continues to increase. This report also provides vital evidence to help us understand these trends and to ensure that our policies and planning are focused on delivering accessible, timely and high‑quality care for everyone, both now and into the future.”
Key findings from Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2025 include:
- Life expectancy in Ireland has increased by over two years for males since 2015, reaching 81.1 years in 2023, and by just over one year for females, reaching 84.6 years.
- The overall mortality rate has fallen by 16.1% since 2015, with substantial reductions in deaths from cancer, circulatory system diseases, ischaemic heart disease and respiratory system diseases.
- Over the past decade (2015–2024), per-capita annual consumption of alcohol and cigarettes among adults aged 15 years and over declined by 12.2% and 50%, respectively.
- Ireland’s population has grown by 15.2% since 2016, with the largest increase seen among those aged 65 and over, whose numbers rose by 36.7% between 2016 and 2025.
- In 2024, there were 1.6 million attendances at hospital Emergency Departments (up 6.6% on 2023) and approximately 4 million outpatient attendances (up 8.9% on 2023), representing year‑on‑year increases in demand for hospital services.
- People aged 65 and over accounted for more than half of inpatient bed days used in 2024, reflecting the impact of population ageing on hospital activity.
- The total number of consultant and non-consultant hospital doctors employed in the public health service in Ireland in 2025 was 14,468, an increase of 62.2% since 2016. The number of nurses and midwives is now almost 49,000 which is a 36.1% increase since 2016 (Table 5.1 and 5.2).
- Public health service employment also increased notably over the last decade (2016-2025), with a 56.3% increase in Medical and Dental staff, 46.6% rise in Health and Social Care Professionals and 29.3% increase in Patient and Client Care (Table 5.1).
- Total public health expenditure more than doubled between 2015 and 2024, with government funding accounting for 77.7% of total health expenditure in 2024.
- Data on child and adolescent health was included for the first time. It shows that the breastfeeding rate at discharge from a maternity facility increased from 58% in 2015 to 65.3% in 2024.
Read the report here: https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-health/campaigns/health-in-ireland-key-trends-2025/
Notes:
Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2025 is published by the Department of Health’s Statistics & Analytics Unit and serves as an accessible reference guide to major trends in health and healthcare in Ireland over the past decade. Detailed charts and tables are provided in each chapter to support evidence‑based policy development and service planning.
This is the 17th edition of the Department of Health’s annual statistical overview.