We’re number 1 in Europe for making babies

IRELAND is in the middle of another baby boom – and much of this one seems to be down to a devil-maycare approach to family planning.

As economic confidence grows and families spend that little bit more – especially on a Saturday night tipple – we have topped the European birth rate.

And while midwife Tracy Donegan says the fact that the baby boom is getting boomier is down to a number of things – particularly the lack of planning.

She explained: ‘Keep in mind that around half of all pregnancies are unplanned and excessive alcohol consumption is a big part of our culture.’

According to the population estimates, released by Eurostat yesterday, Ireland topped the EU birth rate with a proud 14.4 newborns per thousand, while the average was 10.1 births, following on from similar booms in the Sixties and Eighties.

Ms Donegan said that a huge factor is ‘that around 40 per cent of our population is under 30 and the economy is turning’.

She added: ‘Assisted fertility options are becoming more affordable abroad too so we’re seeing an older population of first time mothers as well.’

France had the second highest rate, at 12.4 per cent, while the lowest were in Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Germany.

During the year, 5.1million babies were born in the EU, 33,000 more than the previous year.

And according to these figures, Ireland now has a population of 4.6million, almost 1 per cent of the entire EU population.

We also have the highest proportion of children in the EU, as another Eurostat report found us to be the most ‘ youthful country’. The proportion of Irish children (under the age of 15) stood at 22 per cent.

France was next, at 18.6 per

Half of the births were unplanned

cent, with Britain on 17.6 per cent and Denmark just behind at 17.2 per cent.

However, there were 1,468 fewer births last year compared to the previous year. According to the Central Statistics Office, there were 67,462 births registered l ast year which was a reduction on 2013’s rate.

David Hughes, Deputy General Secretary of the Irish National Midwives Organisation, said the study’s findings are not ‘surprising’ and having a younger population than the rest of Europe would be a distinct advantage. But he added the high birth rate does raise concerns.

He said: ‘In terms our experience it would pretty much confirm obviously what the midwives are telling us; which is that the birth rate is very high in Ireland and we are not properly staffed to deal with it. We could be 500 to 600 [midwives] short.’

He added that the ratio of midwives to births in Ireland is at a ‘dangerously low level’.

According to the Eurostat study, Ireland also had one of the lowest death rates per thousand in the EU at just 6.4, just behind Cyprus where deaths stood at 6.2 per thousand. The average EU death rate last year was 9.7 per thousand residents.

Bulgaria had the highest death rate at 15.1, followed by Latvia (14.3), Lithuania (13.7), Hungary ( 12.8) Romania ( 12.7) and Croatia (12.0).

As a consequence, Ireland also had the highest increase in population in 2014 based on the difference between live births and deaths expressed per thousand residents at +8.1 per cent which was by far the highest change.

Ireland was followed by Cyprus (+4.7), France and Luxembourg (both +4.0) and the United Kingdom (+3.2). The EU average increase during the same period was 0.3 per cent.