Pneumonia is the leading cause of death from respiratory disease in the Republic. Caused mainly by bacteria, serious lung infection causes one third of respiratory deaths.
Cancers of the respiratory system, including those of the trachea (windpipe), the bronchus (large airway) and the lung, are the second largest cause of respiratory death here.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in which the airways are narrowed and chronically inflamed, at 22 per cent, is the third biggest cause of respiratory death.
The other one-sixth of respiratory deaths are caused by a range of diseases including tuberculosis, congenital anomalies and cystic fibrosis.
Although the cause of relatively few deaths, asthma is the second most prevalent respiratory illness, affecting 5 per cent of the population.
Respiratory disease cost the health service €437.1 million in 2006. More than one in five people visit their GP at least once a year because of respiratory illness.