Baby boom due as birth rate jumps almost 10% in 12 months

IRELAND could be set for another baby boom as figures show the number of births during the first half of 2008 was up almost 10% on the year before.

New data published by the Central Statistics Office indicates that 2008 is likely to show the highest birth rate since the 1980s.

The latest CSO Vital Statistics report shows that 38,173 children were born in the first half of last year — an increase of 3,573 over the same period in 2007.

It represents a remarkable 9.4% increase in the number of births in the space of 12 months, even though Ireland already had the highest birth rate of all 27 EU member states.

It also means that the number of births has grown by 40% in the past decade.

The natural population increase — the excess of births over deaths — seems destined to grow further as the death rate in 2008 was consistent with the past few years at about 6.5 deaths per 1,000 population. For the first half of 2008, the natural increase was more than 23,000.

The figures suggest Ireland’s population is set to grow further, although the effect of rising emigration due to the recession has not yet been measured.

The latest figures also reveal Ireland had a birth rate of 17.2 per 1,000 population for the first six months of 2008 compared with 16.2 in 2007 when the EU average was just 10.6.

Two out of five births were to first-time mothers, while the average age of women giving birth has also risen to its highest level at 31.2 years.

About a third of all children born in the first half of 2008 were born outside marriage. However, half of the 12,500 babies born outside marriage during the period were registered as having both parents living together.

Boys accounted for 51.4% of all babies born in the second quarter of 2008, compared with girls at 48.6%.

A total of 13 babies were born to mothers aged 15 years and under in the same period, two of whom had previously given birth to another child.

The figures show 635 children were born to mothers aged under 20 years — one of whom has already given birth to three other children. Thirty-nine women aged over 45 gave birth during the same period, of which 14 were first-time mothers.

The figures show there was also an increase last year in infant mortality (babies less than 12 months) after a steady downward trend over the past decade.

A total of 153 infant deaths were recorded in the first half of 2008 compared with 108 in the same period the previous year.

The national infant mortality rate stands at 4.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. The survey shows that Meath, Offaly and Waterford all recorded infant mortality rates more than double the national average, while Carlow, Kilkenny, Westmeath, Galway city, Sligo and Leitrim recorded no such deaths in the second quarter of 2008.

The report also suggests there has been a slight slowdown in the number of couples getting married. There were 8,611 marriages registered in the first half of last year — over 300 less than the corresponding period in 2007.