Hundreds of child deaths were preventable, but Ireland lacks central reporting system

Report says of the 612 deaths recorded, 363 were infants under one year, 145 were children aged one-14 years and 104 were young people aged 15-18.

"A large proportion" of the more than 600 deaths of children in 2022 and 2023 were preventable, but a lack of a centralised reporting system is hindering attempts to address the root cause of the fatalities.

The National Paediatric Mortality Register annual report 2025, which is to be published on Tuesday by the National Office of Clinical Audit, also points out while child deaths are continuing to decline globally, "in Ireland, there has been no significant decline in the mortality rate of older children (10-14 years and 15-18 years) since 2013".

"The infant mortality rate has also plateaued and is higher than that of some other European countries," the report says.

"The absence of a centralised, universal system for the timely reporting and analysis of child deaths continues to hinder progress in addressing the root causes of these fatalities."

Its report says of the 612 deaths recorded, 363 were infants under one year, 145 were children aged one-14 years and 104 were young people aged 15-18.

Deaths linked to sudden infant death syndrome rose from 0.24 per 1,000 live births in 2019–2021 to 0.35 per 1,000 live births in 2022–2023.

“The provisional infant mortality rate for 2022–2023 was 3.2 per 1,000 live births, higher than the previous rate of 3.1 per 1,000 and no longer below the EU average rate.” 

Some 75% of babies who died were less than 28 days old. This was mainly linked to conditions during pregnancy and first week of life (56%) or genetic disorders (38%).

In terms of preventable deaths, the report points out 20% of deaths in children aged one-14 years and 51% of deaths in young people aged 15-18 years were due to trauma.

Over a quarter (27%) of all trauma deaths in children aged one-14 years and 14% of trauma deaths in older children 15-18 years were due to road traffic collisions.

And among 15-18-year-olds, suspected self-harm was responsible for 54% of all injury-related deaths, and 19% in children aged one-14 years.

Cancers were the second leading cause of death among older teenagers at 16% between 2019 and 2023. Cancers accounted for one-quarter of deaths among children aged one to 14.

The findings should be “a call to action for policymakers, healthcare providers, and communities to invest in systems that save lives”, said Professor Michael Barrett, National Paediatric Mortality Register
governance committee chair.

“Each young life holds immense potential, not just for their own futures but for the contributions they could bring to society,” he said.

“Among older children, trauma, including road traffic collisions and suspected self-harm, remains a leading cause of death, alongside slight increases in SIDS and infant mortality rates.” 

Among the recommendations from the report are:

• A centralised electronic data collection system for timely and accurate reporting of child mortality nationally;
• Enhanced suicide prevention efforts through collaboration with the HSE National Office of Suicide Prevention;
• The investigation and review of data on sudden infant death syndrome cases to identify high-risk groups and implement targeted prevention strategies;
• Detailed reviews of data on infection-related deaths to identify opportunities for intervention.

Kate Burke, bereaved mother and patient/public interest representative with the National Paediatric Mortality Register described the report as “deeply challenging” for her family.

“While it needs to be clinical and statistics-based, it is vital that readers recognise that each number represents a child (like my son Kieran),” she said.

“The journey of a bereaved parent does not end with registering a death. It is lifelong and impacts every aspect of life. My hope is that this report serves as more than an academic exercise but becomes a true tool for change, improving children’s health and reducing deaths.”