Just over 2,000 excess deaths have been recorded in Ireland since the start of the COVID pandemic.
New HIQA analysis shows excess mortality during the second half of last year was among the lowest in Europe.
Excess deaths measure how many more people died during a period of time than would normally be expected.
A new HIQA report finds that, between the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and November 2021, there were an estimated 2,019 excess deaths.
It shows they occurred during a seven week period from late March to mid May 2020 - and an eight week period from early January to late February 2021.
The report notes that 82% of the excess deaths were among people over the age of 65.
HIQA said Ireland’s relatively low proportion of older adults, low population density and vaccination rollout all helped to reduce the levels of severe disease.
It also noted that some countries saw a peak in excess deaths in the second half of 2021; however, Ireland had one of the lowest rates in the EU at the time.
