A new report commissioned by the Department of Health has found that the majority of Irish people have reasonably high levels of positive mental health.
However, poorer mental health is experienced by those with low levels of education and low income, as well as those who are not in paid employment and have lower levels of social support.
Men reported higher levels of positive mental health than women.
More than 10,000 people were interviewed for the study.
It was part of a series based on the main Slán 2007 survey which was carried out by a research consortium involving NUI Galway, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the Economic and Social Research Institute, and University College Cork.
The study is the largest national survey to date on the extent of both positive and negative mental health and social wellbeing in the Irish adult population.
