The number of births in Ireland dropped by 20 percent in the last decade, while deaths increased by 19 percent, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
According to the statistics, there were 57,540 babies born in the State last year, which compares to 71,674 children born in 2012 to a smaller population base. Meanwhile, the number of deaths has risen. There were 35,477 deaths registered in 2022 in the State, which compares to 28,848 registered deaths in 2012 – an increase of 19 percent.
The number of births recorded represents a drop of 1.5 per cent on last year’s figures.
Of the 35,477 deaths registered last year, 18,346 were male, and 17,131 were female. This means Ireland has a death rate of 7.0 deaths per 1,000 population. 83% of the deaths registered in Ireland last year were persons aged 65 years or over, the CSO figures show..
The CSO said that Covid-19 accounted for 1,848 (5.2%) of deaths in Ireland in 2022, while cancers, diseases of the circulatory system or diseases of the respiratory system accounted for two in three deaths last year.
Dublin City had the highest number of registered births, with 6,967 babies born, equating to 12% of all live births across the State. Dublin was followed by Cork County, with 8.5% births recorded there. Meanwhile, Leitrim had the lowest number of births registered, with 391 (0.7%) new babies registered there.
The CSO numbers also reveal that the average age of first time mothers last year jumped from 31.9 to 33.2.
The figures reveal that 43% of babies (24,754) were born outside of marriage or civil partnerships. 384 women aged 45 and older gave birth, while 19 babies were born to mothers aged under 16 last year. 798 teenagers had babies in 2022 – a rise of 99 from 2021.
Mothers aged 40 and over gave birth to 5,137 babies, 384 of whom were born to mothers aged 45 and over.
The drop in births and increase in deaths comes amid a substantial increase in abortions since the repeal of the eighth amendment in 2018. There have been an estimated 31,000 abortions since the law changed four and a half years ago, with over 8,500 abortions carried out last year alone, a 25 percent increase in the space of one year.
Speaking at the end of April, pro-life TD Carol Nolan was among those to express horror at recommendations made in the Government’s review of the abortion law to scrap the three-day waiting time, and to remove the 12-week time limit on abortion in Ireland.
The Independent TD for Laois-Offaly described proposed changes to the law as a “radical departure from every single commitment provided to the Irish people in 2018 and 2019 and a fundamental breach of trust that will result in the deaths of thousands of more unborn children and an increase in harm to women and mothers.”
“If the reporting we are reading today is an accurate reflection of the review’s recommendations and if they are sanctioned by Government, then it is, without doubt, the greatest betrayal of voters in recent years,” she said, adding that such changes would represent “a full-frontal assault on unborn human life that is simply catastrophic.”
EXCESS DEATHS
Meanwhile, the increase in deaths follows calls for the HSE to do a proper analysis of excess deaths, and whether they are linked to the Covid pandemic.
In December, it was reported by the CSO that the number of deaths in quarter two of 2022 rose by 39.2 percent compared to the same period in 2021.
TD Peadar Tóibín made headlines when he asked Health Minister Stephen Donnelly if there would be an investigation into excess deaths.
Speaking on the issue at the time, Mr Tóibín described the figures as “incredible” and said they merited investigation.
“The figures from Eurostat and the CSO are quite incredible. The former shows that excess deaths in Ireland in July increased by 16pc and the numbers dying in August this year were 17pc higher than the average before Covid hit,” he said.
“Last August saw the fifth highest death rate since January 2020, the start of the Covid crisis. The CSO released figures very recently that show that in quarter two there was a 39.2pc increase in deaths compared with the same time last year. Again, an incredibly high mortality rate. I have issued parliamentary questions to try to ascertain what’s going on.”
“When I query the CSO-reported spike in deaths, I am told that this could be as a result of the cyber attack preventing deaths being registered in 2021 – that these deaths were registered instead in 2022,” said Mr Tóibín.
“This may be the case but surely with this level of human mortality, we should know for sure. There should be an investigation into what’s happening,” he said.