More than one-quarter of the population is without either a medical card or private health insurance cover, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show.
The figures, based on a survey on health last year, also showed that almost one-fifth of those questioned had consulted their GP in the previous two weeks.
The survey indicated that almost 26 per cent of those aged 18 and over were covered by a medical card while a further 46 per cent said they had private health insurance. Just 2 per cent said they had both.
Approximately 70 per cent of those aged 65 and over had a medical card compared with only one in six of those under 45. Private health insurance was more common among the middle-aged.
About 10 per cent of employed people said that they were holders of medical cards. This compared with 47 per cent of unemployed people and 54 per cent of people not economically active. In contrast, almost 57 per cent of the employed had health insurance.
Almost 20 per cent of adults on outpatient waiting lists had been waiting for six months or more and 7 per cent had been on a waiting list for over a year. Holders of medical cards waited for longer.