Ireland's fertility time bomb: Falling population 'a dangerous territory' for society and the economy 

Women are having children later in life or not having them at all, and this will ultimately have profound impacts on our world as we know it, writes Cianan Brennan

Ireland’s average age for a woman to give birth is now the highest it has been in recorded history, at 33.3 years in 2021.

Ireland has a fertility problem. It is not a new observation. The age at which people are having children for the first time in this country has been on the march upwards for decades.

There are lots of reasons for that. Women are often choosing to build a career before contemplating having children. Sexual mores have changed over the past 30 years. More than anything, people are probably choosing to have babies later in life because they can afford to do so.