Age was grouped into five-year bands up to 85 years and over. Individuals aged 25-29 years had the shortest median distances to health services of any age group, with half living within 6.0 km of a HSE General Hospital. From age 30 years and over, median distances increased steadily, peaking among those aged 65-69 years, before declining slightly among the oldest age groups. For instance, half of individuals aged 65-69 years were within 13.0 km of a HSE General Hospital and half of individuals age 85 years and over were within 11.9 km.
Among all age groups, individuals aged 25-29 years had the shortest upper quartile distance to a HSE General Hospital, with three in four living within 20.6 km of their nearest General Hospital.
At NUTS-3 Region level, the pattern of shorter median distances among those in their twenties to a HSE General Hospital was most pronounced in the South-West, where median distances fell from 21.8 km among those aged 0-4 years to 11.1 km among those aged 25-29 years. The Border region had the longest median distances of any region, peaking at 33.0 km among those aged 80-84 years.
At State level, men had longer median distances to health services than women, though differences were modest. The median distance to a HSE General Hospital was 11.2 km for men and 10.8 km for women, rising to 13.5 km and 13.0 km respectively for median distance to a HSE Emergency Department. For primary care services, sex differences were negligible across all age groups, with median distances to a GP, Pharmacy and HSE Primary Care Centre differing by less than 0.2 km between men and women.
Both men and women followed the same overall age pattern - shortest distances among those aged between 25 and 34 years, increasing steadily from age 35 years onwards. However, the gap between men and women widened considerably among older age groups. For HSE Emergency Departments, the largest difference was among those aged 80-84 years, where half of all men lived more than 16.6 km from their nearest service compared with 13.7 km for half of all women. Among those aged 85 years and over, the corresponding distances were 16.5 km for men and 14.6 km for women. For HSE General Hospitals, the gap was largest among those aged 70-74 years, at 13.9 km for men and 12.3 km for women.
Among children aged 0 to 19 years, differences between boys and girls were minimal across all services - less than 0.2 km for most services.
This section uses the six-category urban and rural classification set out in Urban and Rural Life in Ireland, 2025 - Central Statistics Office.
In 'Cities', median distances to a HSE General Hospital were 3.8 km among those aged 0-4 years, falling to 2.9 km among those aged 25-29 years before rising gradually from age 30 years onwards. Median distances to a HSE Emergency Department or Injury Unit followed the same pattern; 4.3 km among those aged 0-4 years and 3.3 km among those aged 25-29 years, before rising gradually from age 30 years onwards. Sex differences in 'Cities' were minimal across all age groups for both services.
In 'Highly rural and remote areas', median distances showed little variation by age or sex across both services. Distances to a HSE General Hospital were between 31.9 km and 34.2 km across all age groups, while distances to a HSE Emergency Department or Injury Unit were between 30.2 km and 33.0 km.
Unlike other area types, 'Independent urban towns' had larger differences across age groups for both services. Median distances to a HSE General Hospital were 17.4 km among those aged 0-4 years, 17.2 km among those aged 25-29 years, 19.4 km among those aged 65-69 years and 19.8 km among those aged 85 years and over. Sex differences were small; among those aged 85 years and over, half of all men lived more than 20.1 km from their nearest HSE General Hospital, compared with 19.7 km for half of all women. Median distances to a HSE Emergency Department or Injury Unit were 16.7 km among those aged 0-4 years, 16.5 km among those aged 25-29 years and 18.4 km among those aged 85 years and over. Among those aged 85 years and over, half of all men lived more than 19.2 km from their nearest HSE Emergency Department or Injury Unit, compared with 17.5 km for half of all women.
In most Administrative Counties, median distances to health services were shortest among individuals in their twenties, consistent with the State-level finding. Sex differences in median distance to nearest GP were generally small at the national level but were more pronounced in older age groups in certain Administrative Counties, particularly Cavan County, where men aged 85 years and over had a median distance of 5.5 km to the nearest GP compared with 4.9 km for women in the same age group.
The CSO’s Vital Statistics Yearly Summary provides a snapshot of life events, including the average age of a women giving birth in Ireland each year. According to this summary, the average age of a woman giving birth in Ireland was approximately 33 years between 2022 and 2025. Focusing therefore on women aged 30-35 years, the median distance to a HSE Maternity Department was 13.1 km, and 14.3 km to a HSE Emergency Maternity Department, compared with 17.4 km for the general population.
There are six HSE Health Regions, each responsible for both hospital and community care: Dublin and North East, Dublin and Midlands, Dublin and South East, South West, Midwest and West and North West. Further information on the counties within each region is available in the Background Notes.
The highest median distances to a HSE Maternity Department among women aged 30-34 years was in the HSE West and North West Health Region (23.7 km) and the HSE Midwest Health Region (23.6 km). In the HSE Midwest Health Region, one in four women aged 30-34 years lived more than 40.5 km from their nearest HSE Maternity Department. For HSE Emergency Maternity Departments, the HSE Dublin and South East Health Region had the highest median distance (26.6 km), with one in four women aged 30-34 years living more than 49.9 km away. While this region includes parts of Dublin South, it also extends across Wexford, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Tipperary South.
At HSE Integrated Healthcare Area (IHA) level, the HSE Clare and Limerick County IHA had the highest median distance to a HSE Maternity Department (34.4 km). IHAs covering Dublin had some of the lowest median distances, with the HSE Dublin North County IHA recording 12.6 km to both a HSE Maternity Department and a HSE Emergency Maternity Department.
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