IRISH PEOPLE GET an average of 6.9 hours of sleep every night, with women and carers having poorer quality sleep than others.

That’s according to the results of the latest Healthy Ireland survey, which asked 7,558 people aged 15 and older about their wellbeing.

Some 82% of people surveyed said their general health was ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

Some 80% of people reported visiting a GP in the last 12 months, a 9% increase on 2015.

Of those who accessed any kind of a healthcare service in the last 12 months, 43% did not pay for it.

There was a slight decline since last year in the number of people who consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months. Meanwhile, 26% reported binge drinking, down from 28% in 2024 and 30% in 2015.

For the first time, the survey included questions on women’s experience of menopause.

Almost half of women in perimenopause or menopause reported a somewhat negative or very negative experience.

The majority of women going through or having gone through menopause said they experienced symptoms, with 13% describing their symptoms as severe and significantly impacting their life.

The survey also included questions aimed at those in a caring role, with a specific focus on women carers.

It found that self-reported good health among women carers aged 35-54 is broadly similar to that of other women their age, and they also reported similar levels of smoking and e-cigarette usage.

However, carers reported poorer quality sleep than non-carers. Some 58% of carers reporting good or very good quality sleep compared with 69% of non-carers.

Asked about contraception, 34% of people aged 18 or above said that they or their partner currently use it. Some 66% do not currently use any form of contraception (3% don’t do so because they are trying to conceive).