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IRELAND HAS THE highest fertility rate in the European Union according to new statistics published today.
Figures from the Regional Yearbook published by Eurostat show that Ireland recorded a fertility rate of 2.05 live births per woman in 2011 which was well above the EU average and the highest of the 27 member states.
The total average fertility rate in the EU stood at 1.57 in 2011. Overall there has been a slowdown in natural population growth across the EU due to women having fewer children in the last decade.
In the developed world a fertility rate of 2.10 live births per woman is considered the rate at which the size of the population would remain static if there is no inward or outward migration.
Ireland’s rate was slightly above that France where it was 2.01 live births per woman. This was followed by the UK with a rate of 1.96, and Sweden with a rate of 1.90.
The lowest live births per woman was recorded in Hungary where it was an average of 1.23 per woman.
The figures published today also show that nearly 30 per cent of the Irish population are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. The 29.4 per cent figure for Ireland is above the EU average of 24.3 per cent.
Being at risk of poverty and social exclusion means that the person satisfies one of the following criteria: they are at risk-of-poverty, severely materially deprived or living in households with very low work intensity.
Statistics from Eurostat today also show that Ireland has experienced one of the highest falls in employment rates in recent years in the whole of the EU.
Between 2008 and 2011 employment rates fell by 8.2 per cent in the southern and eastern regions while in the borders, midlands and western regions it fell by 9.2 per cent.
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“living in households with very low work intensity.”
Some in the cities are now 4th generation career dossers.
The choice (or lack thereof) to have more children is hardly a measure of fertility.
Exactly. ….the headline is incorrect.
How much can we sell our swimmers for on the black market,I’ve a sample from earlier in a sock
Don’t kid yourself, jack. If it’s anything like the 2010 figures, you’ll find that 40% of those babies have a non-Irish-born daddy. Irish males’ breeding rate is down near the EU average. It’s foreigners who are servicing your women.
I don’t remember anybody coming to my house to measure my fertility?
There’s nothing else to do in a recession so why not ride it out
Tanya
I would gladly offer my services as a tester.
Hang on ill be round with my measuring instrument
Haha!!!
Pull your knickers up ladies!
Jack what is your measuring stick called, Rhythm Stick?
Jack what is your measuring stick called, Rhythm Stick?
Of course we have the highest rate in Europe. It literally pays you to give birth in this country. Cut the child welfare off and single parent allowance and see what the figures show next year.
Do you know how expensive it is to bring up a child?
Matt people shouldn’t be having children if they can’t afford to raise them properly, it’s irresponsible.
Yes.
Yeah Cian they should be made to hand them back if they loose their job as well. Whatever were they thinking.
Gramham its the children that are being born now that will be paying your state pension. As far as I’m concerned the more children that are born now the better because as it stand there’ll be no one working to fund our pensions in 30-40 years time
So only the wealthy should breed . Wow
It is true what you say but they can’t pay you pension when they emigrated because every thing has been sucked out if this country by the government
@Galwaybay its the children that are being born now to useless unemployed parents that only ever sponged off the state like their parents before them and so on ….. I don’t have a problem with children being born but I do have a problem to whom they are born to. These children have no choice but they will be thought how to sponge off the state to which you and I contribute to every day and week. Surely your not so naive to think that every child born in todays society will contribute the same as us? surely you not so naive to believe you can rely on all these children in the future to pay your state pension?? doubt it!!
If you rely on the state to support your kids you shouldn’t have them in the first place.
Can’t afford them don’t have them.
Cian I agree,the amount of young ones popping babies out like slot machines just to get a house.there should be tower blocks on the outskirts of places to house them.
Graham that was verbal garbage
Oh I agree with you who heartly with regards single mothers. There’s no modern day immaculate conception and as far as I’m concerned should get no more than the childrens allowance. However the vast majority of kids born today are not born to wasters. Most will turn out to be decent hard working member of society
And taxpayers.
Kieran Doyle, what self respecting Irish man uses the term ‘garbage’?
Hard to do that when we don’t have the right to end a pregnancy we don’t want.
Kieran no its not !!
Enda has it all sorted kill the babies
Graham re read your comment in relation to the article. You have generalised a whole swathe of future society. Useless unemployed is a dreadful thing to label a sector of society. Especially where a sector of society is condoned by another sector if society deliberately. The welfare society is a deliberate phenomenon designed to maintain order. Look it up. Ireland is a compliant society because of the way it is structured. 80% of us are hardworking educated to a point and net contributors. 2.5% are not only sponges but are also potentially dangerous to society and it is this that needs to be suppressed. This by the is not just this society but is true globally. It is however cheaper to have a welfare society than to have a police state. However with the Rise in unemployment it is bordering on affordability to have a welfare state look at the numbers when our unemployment rate sat at 4.5% now if has tripled. The crux is not the unemployed the crux is how to maintain order in society. This state is maintaining it admirably but for how long?
Ever heard of contraception ??
Jim, did you just cut-and-paste that comment from another article?
As usual lots of crap flung at single mothers. What about all the fathers who pull up their jocks and walk away? Most never support their kids financially or any other way. Let’s spread some of that all male bike their way shall we?
Sorry kieran I got bored after I read the word sector for the 5th time in extra long drivel. What I said is unfortunately a fact and no amount if do gooders p.c comments can change that. So return to what ever sector you came from.
That’s what abortion is for
In other news Ireland has the highest emigration rate in the European Union!
*cough* skangers *cough*
With the way they breed you’d think it was a sin to reach 21 without at least one child.
The average age for a woman to have a child in Ireland is 31.5 years. European average is 27.
jaysus, in certain sections of “our” community 31.5 would be the average age of becoming a grandmother
So it’s a minority
That figure is skewed by the fact that there are girls having babies in their teens while some coupled can’t afford to have children until dangerously late in the woman’s reproductive life.
Muriel, utter rubbish. Check your facts.
How many of those births were actually born to Irish mothers?
Mostly anchor babies I would imagine, the trend continues…
Births to mothers of Irish nationality accounted for over three-quarters (76%) of the births in 2012. A further 2.2% of births were to mothers of UK nationality, with 1.4% born to mothers from EU15 countries excluding Ireland and the UK. Over 11% of births were born to mothers from the Accession states (EU27 excl. EU 15) and 8.2% to mothers from non EU countries. The remaining 1.2% of births did not state a nationality for the mother.
So you have a possible 9.4% of children born to people outside of Europe.
You could by no means call that “Mostly”
TheWords, I work in a maternity hospital and 1 in 4 babies are born to non Irish women.
20% of our population are foreign, thats the highest % in the EU and theyre having 25% of the babies. We’ll be a minority in Ireland in a generation.
If foreigners are having 25% of the babies, then in a generation, 25% of 25 year olds will have a foreign parent. Is this some use of the word “majority” of which news has not yet come to Oxford?
Jesus Christ ,them bloody foreigners! Aren’t they supposed just clean your toilets and flip your burgers? They live their lives too? How dare they……
There are plenty of unmarried mothers who work. And if they work, they do not get single parents allowance.
My other half is an ‘unmarried mother’ just like I’m an unmarried father.
She works full time as do I.
Are we somehow bad parents because we arent married?
Bullsh*t.
I want a baby
PM me ;)
I’ve a recession beating two for one offer
I was wondering how long it would take to turn this thread into a slam those on benefits thread. A nanosecond was the answer .
to be fair the gubberments only concern in relation to fertility is the ability to pay their benefits. Do they really care that hey have pushed many people into later and more complicated child baring age due to high taxes/property prices.?? I don’t think so
There are many people on benefit Catherine, some who deserve it more than others ie, yourself. There are those who deserve it less than others ie. those who have never worked and will never work as in some cases their standard of living is higher than some taxpayers. You deserve more than you are getting but probably won’t as those who are milking the system and abusing our welfare are preventing people like yourself from receiving the help you are more than entitled to. Our welfare system needs a total overhaul!
That’s pat mustard at it again
Are you the hairy baby maker?
Of course we have the highest fertility rate, how else will we keep all them jumbos full of emigrants if we don’t keep producing on the baby treadmill. Same time though GO US…. We’ve the best women in the world and obviously they’re keener than they lead us to believe.
Child means a free meal ticket in ireland
No it doesn’t Bernard. You try living on that “free meal ticket”.
On a lighter note: Who’d have guessed that as well as transporting people through the channel tunnel, Eurostar are compiling fertility statistics too.
A tax on shagging might help
Another shagging tax?
‘The future’s so bright I gotta wear shades’. Ireland’s future consultants, barristers and entrepreneurs, I’m afraid not.
The social welfare and people on it are after taking awful abuse on this… So much for the Irish people standing together.. And ye wonder why this country is in the shits, kicking people while they are down, never mind the fact that the politicians earn thousands every week, living the high life, yeah crucify all the single mothers and not the big earner politicians!!
Here we go again let’s blame it all on the single mothers. Let’s do what they done years ago take their babies and give them to a rich married couple, don’t blame the bankers blame the single mothers
Christ were a bunch of jack rabbits
Gididity giddity…
We Irish didnt evolve from ape was from rabbits :-)
Pmsl I can prove this true im one of 16 and I had 9
Cue Paddy…
We had a hot Summer… Hopefully it won’t be a cold Solstice…
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