Birth rate soars as immigration numbers fall

BIRTHS here are at their highest since 1980 with 72,300 children born in the year to April 2008.

But there are fewer immigrants from EU accession states moving here — the number of immigrants fell by nearly a quarter to a little more than 83,000.

The Population and Migration Estimates released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) come as further figures show employment growth slowing to a halt in the wake of falling construction job numbers.