Photo: Graham Horn · CC BY-SA 2.0More people in Oola have a disability than its ages would predict
Disability runs high: 135 people for every 100 expected from the ages of people in Oola, beside 129 for bad health. Oola has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for a fair Health Grade; its Census figures are below.
What stands out about health in Oola
More people have a disability than its ages predict
Set against the ages of its people, Oola has 135 people with a disability for every 100 expected: more than its age profile suggests. Health Grade ↓
An older town, so raw shares mislead
27% of residents in Oola are 65 or over, against 14% in the typical Irish town, so more of them report bad health on age alone (3.2%). Set against its ages, the figure is 129 for every 100 expected. Census health ↓
More people out of work through illness or disability
7.6% of Oola’s residents aged 15 and over said they couldn’t work because of illness or disability, against 5.1% in the typical Irish town. Census health ↓
More deaths in Co. Limerick than in Ireland
Deaths are counted by county, not town: Co. Limerick had 976 a year per 100,000 over 2020–2024 once its ages are allowed for, against 918 for the whole country. The wider area ↓
From the CSO: Census 2022 health set against Ireland’s rates at each age and sex, household income for 2022, and deaths by county.
Oola has no Health Grade
The figures on this page are still its own.
Fewer people in Oola call their health good than across Irish towns
Census 2022, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Residents of Oola are older than in the typical Irish town (27% are 65 or over, against 14%), which accounts for much of the difference. Adjusted for age, 129 report bad health for every 100 expected, more than the national rate. 5.1% give regular unpaid care (5.4% in the typical Irish town), and 18% smoke (16%).
The town beside its county’s towns and all Irish towns
| Share of residents | Oola | Towns in Co. Limerick | Irish towns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 87% | 89% |
| Fair health | 20% | 11% | 9.5% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.2% | 2.6% | 2% |
| Disability, to any extent | 35% | 23% | 22% |
| Unable to work: illness or disability (15+) | 7.6% | 6.4% | 4.7% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.1% | 5% | 5.3% |
| Smokers | 18% | 18% | 16% |
Life expectancy in the Mid-West region: 82.5 for women, 79 for men
What Ireland publishes above the town: deaths by county and life expectancy by region.
Deaths in Co. Limerick, 2020–2024
Deaths a year per 100,000, age-standardised · 2020–2024
Co. Limerick is among the counties with the most deaths for their ages: 976 a year per 100,000, against 918 for Ireland, with a range of 927 to 1,026.
Every county
| County | Deaths per 100,000 | Bad health | Disability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meath | 849 | 90 | 96 |
| Galway | 854 | 91 | 95 |
| Laois | 862 | 112 | 106 |
| Kildare | 872 | 94 | 100 |
| Roscommon | 892 | 99 | 99 |
| Kilkenny | 892 | 88 | 98 |
| Wicklow | 901 | 94 | 106 |
| Dublin | 907 | 109 | 99 |
| Mayo | 907 | 93 | 94 |
| Ireland | 918 | 101 | 100 |
| Monaghan | 919 | 85 | 87 |
| Clare | 928 | 96 | 96 |
| Westmeath | 929 | 97 | 100 |
| Louth | 931 | 117 | 104 |
| Kerry | 931 | 85 | 95 |
| Donegal | 933 | 107 | 102 |
| Waterford | 935 | 99 | 104 |
| Cork | 950 | 89 | 102 |
| Tipperary | 952 | 103 | 103 |
| Cavan | 954 | 96 | 93 |
| Sligo | 962 | 94 | 101 |
| Wexford | 962 | 109 | 109 |
| Carlow | 964 | 118 | 108 |
| Longford | 972 | 126 | 98 |
| Limerick | 976 | 113 | 103 |
| Offaly | 984 | 117 | 104 |
| Leitrim | 1,012 | 96 | 100 |
Life expectancy by region, 2016
| Region | Life expectancy, women | Life expectancy, men |
|---|---|---|
| West | 84.5 | 79.7 |
| Mid-East | 84 | 80.3 |
| Border | 83.5 | 79.5 |
| Dublin | 83.4 | 80.1 |
| Midland | 83.2 | 80 |
| South-West | 83.2 | 79.1 |
| South-East | 83.1 | 79.3 |
| Mid-West | 82.5 | 79 |
Ireland doesn’t publish life expectancy, deaths, hospital waiting times or GP numbers for towns: life expectancy comes by region and only to 2016, and the HSE reports waits by hospital, not by where patients live. So Oola is graded on what the Census counts for every town: bad health and disability for its ages.
Deaths: CSO MORT04, 2020–2024, by county, age-standardised. Life expectancy: CSO VSA31, 2016, by NUTS 3 region. Not graded.
About what Oola’s income would suggest
Each dot is one of 321 Irish towns of 2,500 or more; the line is the trend.
Richer towns report less bad health for their ages: the line follows 321 Irish towns (correlation −0.74). It puts a town with Oola’s household income, €52,020, at about 132 per 100 expected; Oola is at 129. Income doesn’t change the grade.
No income figure is published for Oola itself: its figure is our estimate from the electoral divisions it covers.
Household income: CSO, 2022. Bad health: Census 2022. The ratios, the estimate for towns without their own income figure and the line are TownRatings calculations.
31% of people in HSE Midwest hold a medical card
Free care by health region, and how many homes have a car to reach it.
In HSE Midwest, 31% of people held a medical card in 2022 and 11% a GP visit card; across the six health regions the medical-card share runs from 27% to 34%.
Medical and GP visit cards: HSE via CSO HHR03, 2022, by health region. Cars: CSO Census 2022.
Health in the places around Oola
Bad health and disability per 100 expected for each place’s ages. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | People | Bad health | Disability | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oola | 315 | 129 | 135 | — |
| Tipperary 9.2 km | 5,387 | 177 | 123 | D |
| Caherconlish 16.0 km | 1,569 | 167 | 128 | D− |
| Moroe 16.3 km | 1,432 | 127 | 129 | C− |
Tipperary, 9.2 km away, reports more bad health for its ages: 177 for every 100 expected, against 129 in Oola.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Adjusted for age. Each figure is people per 100 expected: the town’s own ages and sex at Ireland’s rates give the expected count, so an older town isn’t marked down for its age.
- Small areas, summed to the town. The Census counts are summed from the small areas (about 80 to 120 homes each) that make up the town.
- How sure. Bad health is rare (under 2% of people), so in a small town a few people move the figure; where its 90% range is wider than 50 points the grade is marked less sure. Disability counts are large enough never to be.
- Income and health. The income chart sets each town’s 2022 median gross household income against its bad-health ratio. Where no figure is published for a town, ours is built from the electoral divisions it covers, so it is approximate. The line is a trend, not a cause, and it isn’t part of the grade.
- Deaths by county. Ireland counts deaths by county, not town. The county rate is age-standardised, so an older county isn’t marked up for its age, and it covers five years, so one hard winter doesn’t swing it.
- Town and county. A county’s figure takes in its towns and the countryside around them. Taken together, Irish towns of 2,500 or more have 115 people in bad health per 100 expected, so a town can sit well above the county it belongs to.
- What Ireland doesn’t publish by town. Life expectancy (by region, to 2016), deaths, hospital waits and GP numbers aren’t published for towns, so they aren’t graded here.
- Different years. The Census ratios, medical cards and income are from 2022, deaths by county from 2020–2024, life expectancy from 2016.
Questions about health in Oola
How healthy is Oola?
At the 2022 Census, 129 people in Oola reported bad or very bad health and 135 had a disability for every 100 expected from its ages at Ireland’s rates; 76% said their health was good or very good.
What is the life expectancy in Oola?
Ireland publishes life expectancy for eight regions, not for towns, and the latest is for 2016: in the Mid-West region it was 79 for men and 82.5 for women.
How many people die each year in Co. Limerick?
Ireland publishes deaths by county rather than by town. Over 2020–2024, 976 people a year died per 100,000 in Co. Limerick once its ages are allowed for; for Ireland the figure is 918.
Is Oola healthier than its income would suggest?
About as healthy. Irish towns with a median household income of €52,020 typically have about 132 people in bad health per 100 expected, and Oola has 129.
How many people near Oola have a medical card?
Cards are counted by health region only: 31% of people in HSE Midwest have a medical card, which covers GP visits and public hospital care, and 11% have a GP visit card, which covers GP visits alone.
Where is the nearest hospital or GP to Oola?
This page doesn’t list hospitals or GP practices yet: the HSE publishes its services by hospital and health area, not by town, so the nearest ones aren’t matched to Oola here. The HSE’s service finder lists them; in an emergency call 112 or 999.
Source: CSO, Census of Population 2022 (CC BY 4.0). Age-standardised ratios are TownRatings calculations against Ireland’s rates by age and sex (F4014, F4066). Life expectancy: CSO VSA31, 2016, by region. Medical cards: HSE via CSO HHR03, 2022, by health region.
Sources: CSO Census of Population 2022 (Small Area Population Statistics; F4014, F4066) · bad health and disability per 100 expected: TownRatings calculations, indirectly standardized by age and sex · CSO VSA31 (life expectancy, 2016) · HSE via CSO HHR03 (medical cards, 2022) · CSO MORT04 (deaths by county, age-standardised, 2020–2024) · CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022 (GPIIA01, GPIIA02). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).