COPING WITH POPULATION CHANGE IN IRELAND: THE IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE. ESRI Research Bulletin 2009/4/3

Layte, Richard (2009) COPING WITH POPULATION CHANGE IN IRELAND: THE IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE. ESRI Research Bulletin 2009/4/3. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

Health and health care are particularly sensitive to the size and make-up of the population. As in most other affluent nations, life expectancy in Ireland has been increasing strongly in recent decades. This is to be celebrated and attests to real improvements in Irish society. Nonetheless, older people require both more health care, on average, than younger people and a different combination of services. Population ageing is not the only demographic challenge we face however. Relatively high numbers of births and recent inward migration have led to a larger population, and in combination with increased life expectancy, will lead to further increases in population in the future. This will exert increasing pressure on Irish health care resources. Effective planning for the consequences of these trends will be crucial in determining how successful we are in coping with the associated challenges.

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