The State of Health in the EU’s Country Health Profiles are designed to be a one-stop-shop for knowledge and information on a country’s health system, put into the perspective of a cross-EU comparison. 

Each Country Health Profile provides

• a short synthesis of the health status in the country
• the determinants of health (focusing on behavioural risk factors)
• an account of the organisation of the health system
• an analysis of each health system’s effectiveness, accessibility and resilience.

The Country Health Profiles 2021 reflect the specific health system challenges in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They provide an analytical account of the national health systems’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whenever appropriate, the Country Health Profiles 2021 also link the analytical insights presented in the text to the most important EU health policy activities that are being implemented in the framework of the European Health Union, such as Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe and the European Health Data Space.

Behavioural risk factors are a major driver of mortality in Ireland. While smoking rates among adults have reduced, obesity among adults is on the rise and is now slightly higher than the EU average. One quarter of adults in Ireland report regular heavy alcohol consumption, which is also above the EU average.