Irish Examiner view: Vital data to build a better society

The Healthy Ireland 2022 report functions as a snapshot of the country’s wellbeing but also reveals wider trends

The increase in drinking runs in parallel with the experience of the pandemic, with 13% of respondents saying they drink more now than before lockdown restrictions came into effect in March 2020.

The Healthy Ireland 2022 report functions as a snapshot of the country’s wellbeing, obviously enough, but it also has another application. Wider trends in Irish society can be glimpsed through the prism of the report and much can be revealed.

The snapshot provides an interesting mass of data — the headline findings include the conclusion that we appear to be drinking more alcohol, with a strong suggestion there has been a rise in the number of binge drinkers. The report’s figure is 32%, up from 22% last year, but the effect of wider trends clicks into place when considering those numbers.

The increase in drinking runs in parallel with the experience of the pandemic, with 13% of respondents saying they drink more now than before lockdown restrictions came into effect in March 2020.

Period poverty

Examining Ireland’s relationship with alcohol could be viewed as necessary but hardly groundbreaking, so it’s encouraging to see the Healthy Ireland report focused for the first time on menstrual health and period poverty, a very welcome step.

The survey’s findings on period poverty were bracing, for instance — 10% of respondents struggled to afford period products, 10% changed to less suitable products due to cost, and 8% asked to borrow products that they could not afford.

In total, 24% of those surveyed — one person in four — had experienced some form of period poverty, a stark figure putting health issues in their proper economic context.

A sharper focus on mental health is another heartening development in the survey. The growing openness about mental health in society is reflected in the sheer number of responses to the survey: 4,300 people self-selected to fill out the section on suicide, a level of candour which helps us as a society to understand and aid those who need our help.

The numbers are always helpful, but what those numbers tell us about ourselves will help us create a better society.