Changing population - People lie behind stats

The latest statistics released by the CSO give an insight into the changing face of Ireland.

There was a slight drop in the number of births in 2011, but the total for the year was still more than 23% higher than it was in 2002.

One in three of the births were outside of marriage. In one sense this may be disturbing, but it does show that the awful stigmatism that blighted what should have been a happy occasion for many young mothers has now mercifully been abandoned to a darker period of our history.

The 28,995 deaths registered in 2011 were 1,430 increase on the previous year, which amounted to 4.9%. This figure really needs to be explained.

Almost three quarters of deaths were due to circulatory diseases, cancer, or respiratory diseases. The 525 suicides registered in 2011 are particularly disturbing. They amounted to a rise of 7% on the 490 registered in 2010.

On paper they may be statistics, but they represent enormous heartache for so many families.