The CSO, through Ireland's Institute for SDGs (IIS), supports reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals.
In this chapter:
SDG 3.7.1 Proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15–49 years) who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods is published by the Department of Health.
The SDG indicators metadata repository provides the following definition in the SDG 3.7.1 metadata document:
The percentage of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) currently using a modern method of contraception among those who desire either to have no (additional) children or to postpone the next pregnancy. The indicator is also referred to as the demand for family planning satisfied with modern methods.
On 18 April 2024 the Department of Health launched the Women’s Health Action Plan 2024-2025 Phase 2: An Evolution in Women’s Health
There are three pillars to the Action Plan:
Pillar 1 – Building on Progress: Focusing on the safeguarding and expansion of services developed during the first Action Plan. It includes the expansion of the Free Contraception Scheme to women aged 17-35, increasing capacity of Specialist Menopause Clinics, and the roll-out of additional “See-and-Treat” Gynaecology Clinics.
Pillar 2 – New spotlights for 2024-2025: This includes the development of the first public Assisted Human Reproduction Treatment Centre, initiatives targeted at women at midlife or older, to improve bone health and cardiovascular health, funding to expand the National Venous Thromboembolism Programme and supports for marginalised women.
Pillar 3 – Listening and Learning: Through the Women’s Health Taskforce, the Department of Health will continue to put women’s voices at the centre of policy creation. Initiatives include a new Radical Listening exercise planned for 2025, a new Patient Voice Forum to hear directly from women accessing existing services, as well as new research and outcomes analysis.
Further information is available through the HSE's Sexual Wellbeing website. This information is regularly updated and provides full details of how to access the scheme.
SDG 3.7.2 Adolescent birth rate (aged 10–14 years; aged 15–19 years) per 1,000 women in that age group data are published by the CSO, Vital Statistics section.
The SDG indicators metadata repository provides the following definition in the SDG 3.7.2 metadata document:
Annual number of births to females aged 10-14 or 15-19 years per 1,000 females in the respective age group.
The number of births to women aged under 20 years fell between 2022 and 2023, falling from 798 to 708 births. More than half (51%) of the women aged under 20 years who gave birth in 2023 were aged 19 years. Births outside marriage accounted for 86% of all births to girls aged under 20 years in 2023. There were 21 births to girls aged 15 years and under in 2023. Eight of the 108 births to girls aged 17 years were within marriage in 2023. See Table 7.1 (2017-2021) and Table 7.2 (2022-2023).
There were 54,678 births in 2023 and 708 of these were to women aged under 20 years. This was the second child for 75 of the women aged under 20 years who gave birth and was the third child for 12 women. For one woman aged under 20 years this was her fourth child. See Table 7.3.
Dublin City had the highest number of births in under 20 year olds with 92 births, whilst Leitrim had the lowest with only 1 birth to an under 20 year old woman in 2023. See Table 7.4.
The number of births to women aged under 20 years fell between 2018 and 2023, falling from 956 to 708. About 30% of births to young mothers were in Dublin in 2023, followed by 13% in the Mid-East region. The West region had the lowest proportion of births to women aged under 20 years at 7%. See Table 7.5 and Map 7.1.
SDG 3.8.1 Coverage of essential health services is published by the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive.
The SDG indicators metadata repository provides the following definition in the SDG 3.8.1 metadata document:
Coverage of essential health services (defined as the average coverage of essential services based on tracer interventions that include reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and service capacity and access, among the general and the most disadvantaged population).
The 2023 edition of Health in Ireland: Key Trends (PDF 4.9 MB) compiles summary statistics on various aspects of health and healthcare over the past ten years, using national and international data to highlight national trends and situate Ireland among its European and global peers.
The drug payment scheme (DPS) helped 1,654,375 persons in 2022, an increase of 10% since 2021. Medical cards were available to 1,565,202 persons in 2022, a 1.3% increase on 2021. Long term illness, dental and opthalmic schemes were also of huge benefit to the public in 2022. See Table 7.6.
According to the Health Service Executive 1,598,479 patients had a medical card and 660,487 had a GP visit card in 2024. See Table 7.7.
Galway had the highest number of medical card and GP visit cards, whilst Dun Laoghaire had the lowest number. See Table 7.8.
SDG 3.8.2 Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or income is published by the CSO, Household Budget Survey.
The SDG indicators metadata repository provides the following definition in the SDG 3.8.2 metadata document:
Proportion of the population with large household expenditure on health as a share of total household expenditure or income. Two thresholds are used to define “large household expenditure on health”: greater than 10% and greater than 25% of total household expenditure or income.
In August 2024, the CSO published the Household Budget Survey 2022-2023.
Medical related expenditure (e.g. expenditure on doctors, dentists, medicines, excluding health insurance) accounted for 2.7% in 2022-2023. See Table 7.9.
The average weekly expenditure on medical expenses was 2.8% for households with 2 adults, and 2.2% for households with 1 adult. See Table 7.10.
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