Press Statement

Preasráiteas

09 June 2020

Go to release: Ireland's UN SDGs 2019 - Report on Indicators for Goal 3 Good Health and Well-Being

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (9 June 2020) published ‘Ireland's UN SDGs 2019 - Report on Indicators for Goal 3 Good Health and Well-Being’. This report is the third in a series of CSO publications which will monitor how Ireland is progressing towards meeting its targets under the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Previous reports published in the UN SDG series were ‘Goal 1 No Poverty’ and ‘Goal 2 Zero Hunger’.

Commenting on the publication, Kevin McCormack, Senior Statistician, said: 'Goal 3 Good Health and Well-Being report data for Ireland under 27 Indicators is divided into 6 main chapters: Childbirth, Communicable Diseases, Premature Mortality, Health Care, Environment and Health Infrastructure.

Data is disaggregated in categories such as gender, age group, vulnerable groups and geographical location, where possible.  The SDGs and their associated indicators are, by design, wide-ranging in their coverage.  As a result, the Irish data need to be provided from a number of sources in addition to Government Departments and Organisations, such as International Organisations.  A special feature on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic is included under SDG Target 3.3 Communicable Diseases.’

The 17 UN SDGs are a set of global development targets adopted by the United Nations (UN) member countries in September 2015 to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.  The UN SDGs are driving the global development agenda towards 2030 (Agenda 2030).  They address global challenges including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.  The CSO has a central role in the identification, management, and presentation of the data needed to meet the requirements of the UN SDG Indicators.

A special feature on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic is included under SDG Target 3.3 Communicable Diseases.  There were 25,201 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,679 COVID-19 deaths in Ireland, notified up to 7th of June, 2020.  Similar to all SDG indicators data, the COVID-19 data is disaggregated by age, gender, vulnerable groups and geographical location, where possible.

Consumption of alcohol rose from 10.5 litres to 11 litres per person between 2013 and 2018.  According to the CSO’s 2015 Household Budget Survey 2.2% of average household expenditure were medical expenses.  Around 19% of men smoked compared with 16% of women in 2019.  There were 24.2 public health service employees per thousand population in Ireland in 2019.

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