Ireland’s birth rate highest in Europe

IRISH women are having more babies per capita than their European counterparts, despite having few financial incentives and poor childcare support, a survey has revealed.

Most say they have had just the right number of children, although 22% say they would have liked more.

Tony Fahey, from the Economic and Social Research Institute, who worked on the survey, said the reasons why Irish women were having more children were unclear.

“It’s a puzzle given that there are less government financial incentives than in other countries and that childcare provision is poor,” he said.

Mr Fahey said women who put off having babies a number of years ago were having them now and that many were trying for a third child. Between April 2002 and April 2003 there were 31,900 births in Ireland, according to the Central Statistics Office.

While immigrants were helping push up Ireland’s birth rate Mr Fahey said he did not believe this accounted for the country having the highest birth rate in Europe. Europe has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.

The survey by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions based in Dublin, looked at a range of quality of life issues, analysed social conditions in 15 current and 10 upcoming members of the EU.

It found that happiness for the Irish was having a decent place to live, being able to go out and having enough leisure time.

And 92% said they were satisfied with their home, work and social life.

More Irish people than those in any other country feel well integrated into society at 79% while 10% felt excluded. Those excluded blamed this on being unemployed, poorly education and unskilled.