In 2025, the general health of more than one in twenty (5.5%) children aged 3 to 14 years was considered by their parents to be fair, bad, or very bad. The remaining 94.5% were in good or very good health.
Less than one in ten (8.9%) children were either severely limited or limited but not severely in activities typically undertaken by children of the same age.
At a rate of almost one in ten (9.3%), males aged 3 to 14 years were three times more likely than females (3.2%) to have a diagnosis of autism.
One in sixteen (6.2%) children needed a medical examination or treatment on at least one occasion during the previous 12 months but did not receive it.
One in twenty (4.9%) children needed a dental examination or treatment on at least one occasion during the previous 12 months but did not receive it.
Excluding watching video and playing games, less than one-sixth (16.1%) of 13 to 14 year olds spent at least four hours daily on screen-based activities during weekends.
Among children aged 13 to 14 years, almost one in five (19.8%) wore glasses or contact lenses.
The children's module of Irish Health Survey (IHS) 2025 is an annual voluntary health survey. The survey was collected using an online questionnaire, where guardians were asked questions about their child's health status and health experiences. The children's module of the Irish Health Survey includes about 40 questions and is modelled on The European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). Examples of questions in the children’s module include:
The release includes a small selection of statistics from the survey with additional statistics available in the Data chapter of this release. Statistics within the Data tables are presented by sex and age where possible, and separately by HSE health region.
Data collection was conducted between July and December 2025 via an online questionnaire. In a selection of cases, a telephone interview was conducted. This differs, in terms of timings, to the 2024 wave which was conducted primarily online during November and December 2024. The 2024 wave included children aged 2 to 17 years, whereas the 2025 wave included children aged 3 to 14 years. For 2025, children aged 15 or older are included in the adult survey. Differences in the age of respondents and data collection timings (potential seasonality effects) should be considered when making direct comparisons between results in 2025 and results in 2024.
For further information, please see Background Notes.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (25 August 2026) published the Irish Health Survey - Children’s Health for 2025.
Commenting on today’s release, Stephen Lee, Statistician in the Health Division said: “The statistics contained in this release are from a module on children’s health that was included in the 2025 Irish Health Survey. The guardians of children aged between 3 and 14 years were asked questions, via an online questionnaire, about their child’s health status, access to health care, and their health factors such as nutrition, recreational activities, and screen time.
The release includes a selection of statistics from the children’s module with additional data available on the CSO’s open data portal, data.cso.ie, known as PxStat. The complete list of statistics are included in the Data chapter of this release, with further statistics disaggregated by age, sex, and HSE health region.
A valuable aspect of the data is its use to health researchers. The Health Research Data Centre can provide this access subject to the necessary procedures. An anonymised microdata file (AMF) will also be made available for educational use through the Irish Social Science Data Archive.
The CSO would like to thank everyone who took part in the health survey and took the time to answer questions about their children's health.
Health Status
In 2025, the general health of 5.5% of children aged 3 to 14 years was considered by their parents to be fair, bad, or very bad. The remaining 94.5% were in good or very good health.
Males were more likely than females to have a long-standing health problem or illness. In 2025, about a fifth (20.5%) of males aged 3 to 14 years had such a condition, compared with 16.8% of females the same age.
Less than one in ten (8.9%) children aged 3 to 14 years were limited, either severely or not severely, in activities typically undertaken by children of the same age.
At a rate of almost one in ten (9.3%), males aged 3 to 14 years were three times more likely than females (3.2%) to have a diagnosis of autism. The diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was less prevalent than the diagnosis of autism with 2.7% of males and 2.0% of females having a diagnosis of ADHD.
In 2025, the dental health of more than one in six (17.9%) children aged 3 to 14 years was considered by their parents to be either fair, bad, or very bad. The rate was higher for males, at 19.8%, compared with 15.9% for females.
Almost one in ten (9.7%) children aged 3 to 8 years wore glasses or contact lenses. Among older children, those aged 13 to 14 years, it was almost one in five (19.8%).
Access to Healthcare
One in sixteen (6.2%) children aged 3 to 14 years reported needing a medical examination or treatment on at least one occasion during the previous 12 months but did not receive it. The reasons as to why the examination or treatment did not take place included affordability, waiting list times, distance to travel, or unable to take the time due to other commitments. The highest rates were in the Dublin and Northeast (8.0%), and West and Northwest health regions (7.7%). The lowest rate was in the Dublin and Southeast health region (3.4%).
One in twenty (4.9%) children aged 3 to 14 years needed a dental examination or treatment on at least one occasion during the previous 12 months but did not receive it.
Younger children were more likely than older children to have used non-prescription medicines such as herbal remedies or vitamins in the past two weeks, with more than a third (36.6%) of those aged 3 to 8 years having done so. Older children were more likely to have used prescription medicines in the past two weeks with 17.6% of those aged 13 to 14 years having done so.
Health Determinants
Most children were eating fruit and vegetables at least once a day, with older children, aged 13 to 14 years, slightly less likely to do so at 83.0%, compared with 92.8% of children aged 3 to 8 years. More than 95% of children aged 3 to 14 years had a meal with meat, chicken or fish (or vegetarian equivalent) at least once a day.
Participation in regular leisure activities such as swimming, playing an instrument, or youth organisations was highest for those aged 9 to 12 years (90.7%) and lowest for those aged 3 to 8 years (80.0%).
Excluding watching video and playing games, 16.1% of 13 to 14 year olds spent at least four hours daily on screen-based activities during weekends. On weekdays, this figure dropped to 4.3%.”