Irish Health Survey
The Irish Health Survey is a voluntary survey conducted annually. In Irish law, it is carried out under Section 24 of the Statistics Act, 1993, which allows this Office to invite people to provide information on a voluntary basis. In 2025 and 2031, it will be conducted under the provisions of European Union regulations 2019/1700, 2023/2529, and 2024/297.
The survey fulfils the need for public health policies to obtain reliable data on health status, health care usage and health determinants. It allows for health comparisons to be made across Europe. As part of the survey, information is collected from participants about general self-perceived health, self-reported longstanding illnesses and longstanding health problems, and self-reported long-standing limitations in activities people usually do because of health problems.
Our results are only ever made available in aggregate form to the public and we make sure that it is impossible for individuals or businesses to be identified. Anonymised survey information may be provided to other government departments, approved organisations, and approved researchers for statistical purposes only e.g. Eurostat.
All information supplied to the CSO is treated as strictly confidential. The Statistics Act 1993 sets stringent confidentiality standards. Information collected may be used only for statistical purposes and no details that might be related to an identifiable person or business undertaking may be divulged to any other government department or body.
The information you provide will be held for a maximum period of fifty years. This period has been selected because of the survey data’s significant longitudinal value in relation to statistical and research analysis. Regular reviews will ensure that this period remains appropriate over time.
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For further information on this survey, please contact:
Sarah Crilly, Statistician, by:
Post: Skehard Road, Cork, T12 X00E.
Telephone: 021 453 5085.
E-mail: sarah.crilly@cso.ie.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the following rights:
However, because your data is processed for statistical purposes these rights may be limited in accordance with Article 89 of the GDPR. This is due to the fact that the exercise of any of these rights may render impossible, or seriously impair, the achievement of the statistical processing and such restriction maybe necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to access, rectification, erasure, and restriction of processing in relation to your personal data. However, because your data is processed for statistical purposes these rights may be limited in accordance with Article 89 of the GDPR. This is due to the fact that the exercise of any of these rights may render impossible, or seriously impair, the achievement of the statistical processing and such restriction maybe necessary for the fulfilment of those purposes.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission. It can be contacted by:
Post: 21 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2, D02 RD28.
Telephone: 01 765 01 00 / 1800 437 737.
Online: dataprotection.ie.
Central Statistics Office Data Protection Officer Contact Details:
Post: Skehard Road, Cork, T12 X00E.
E-mail: dpo@cso.ie.