Booming Irish birth rate highest in the EU

IRELAND has the highest birth rate in the EU, with almost 4.2 million people now living in the Republic.

The record birth rate combined with the lowest death rate and continuing high levels of immigration has pushed the population to its highest level since pre-Famine times.

Although the number of new immigrants arriving in the Republic is slowing down, Ireland still has the third-highest rate of immigration in Europe.