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Life expectancy in Ireland has gone up by almost two and half years since 2006.<\/p>\nLife expectancy in Ireland has gone up by almost two and half years since 2006.<\/p>\n
That is one of the key findings of the Government’s Health In Ireland: Key Trends report which has just been published.<\/p>\n
This is the 11th edition of the report from the Department of Health.<\/p>\n
It says that along with an increase in life expectancy, Irish men are also likely to live longer than their European counterparts.<\/p>\n
The increase in life expectancy is due to a reduction in major causes of death such as cancer and circulatory diseases.<\/p>\n
Irish women still outlive men with an average life expectancy of 83.6 years compared to men at 79.9 years although that gap has narrowed from a 5.6 year difference back in 1996.<\/p>\n
Overall the mortality rate for Irish people is down 14.9% in the last 10 years.<\/p>\n
However the report says that reduction has begun to slow down in line with our European neighbours.<\/p>\n
The report also says a lot of challenges remain in the health system, especially access to efficient and timely healthcare across the country.<\/p>\n