Report finds Irish men likely to live longer than European counterparts

Life expectancy in Ireland has gone up by almost two and half years since 2006.

That is one of the key findings of the Government's Health In Ireland: Key Trends report which has just been published.

This is the 11th edition of the report from the Department of Health.

It says that along with an increase in life expectancy, Irish men are also likely to live longer than their European counterparts.

The increase in life expectancy is due to a reduction in major causes of death such as cancer and circulatory diseases.

Irish women still outlive men with an average life expectancy of 83.6 years compared to men at 79.9 years although that gap has narrowed from a 5.6 year difference back in 1996.

Overall the mortality rate for Irish people is down 14.9% in the last 10 years.

However the report says that reduction has begun to slow down in line with our European neighbours.

The report also says a lot of challenges remain in the health system, especially access to efficient and timely healthcare across the country.