Health in the Republic of Ireland
Indicators of overall population health in the Republic of Ireland include risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity; each of which tend towards rates higher than the OECD average. Health indicators. There have been dramatic reductions in mortality from the three principal causes of death in Ireland - heart disease, cancer and stroke - in recent years age-standardised mortality rate for heart disease has fallen by 59% between 1990-2011 and now stands just above the OECD rate at 136 deaths per 100,000 population per annum. Similarly, the age-standardised mortality rate for  stroke has fallen by 51% in the same period to below the OECD average (61 deaths from stroke per 100,000 population per annum). Deaths from cancer have fallen by 21% between 1990-2011 to 217 per 100,000. In 2005: A new measure of expected human capital calculated for 195 countries from 1990 to 2016 and defined for each birth cohort as the expected years lived from age 20 to 64 years and adjusted for educational attainment, learning or education quality, and functional health status was published by The Lancet in September 2018. Ireland had the sixteenth highest level of expected  human capital with 24 health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years. Vaccination. In the Republic of Ireland, childhood vaccination (up to age 16) requires the consent of the parents. The Department of Health strongly recommend vaccinations.