One in three households report heavy financial burden from medical expenses

In 2025, over one in three households in Ireland reported that medical expenses were a heavy or somewhat heavy financial burden.

This is according to the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) Health and Lifestyle Survey on Income and Living Conditions.

The report found that 35.2% of households facing enforced deprivation said that dental expenses were a heavy financial burden, compared with 6.1% of those not experiencing deprivation.

The survey also found that frequent GP visits were more common among people in lower-income households; out of the 20% of people in the lowest income group, 40% had three or more GP visits.

When it came to food habits, those experiencing consistent poverty were less likely to report eating vegetables or salad daily at just 50%, compared to 72.8% of those not experiencing consistent poverty.

The survey also found that people who work in a field that involved mostly heavy labour, 37.2% did not exercise or did so less than once a week. This compares with 14.*% of those whose work involved mostly sitting.

Cian Martin, Statistician at the CSO, said: “In SILC 2025, respondents in households experiencing poverty or deprivation, and those reporting poorer general health, were more likely to experience financial pressure from healthcare expenses, use healthcare services more frequently and report less favourable health-related behaviours, including lower levels of physical activity, less frequent fruit and vegetable consumption, and higher rates of daily tobacco consumption. The Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) identifies people living in enforced deprivation as those who cannot afford two of 11 basic deprivation indicators. See Survey on Income and Living Conditions Fact Sheet.

“These results provide an overview of how healthcare experiences and health-related behaviours vary across different groups in society. The figures show associations with poverty, income, household circumstances, economic status and general health. Those experiencing financial disadvantage or poorer health were generally more likely to require healthcare, face difficulties meeting healthcare costs and report less favourable health-related behaviours.