Childbirth is booming in Ireland – the country now has the highest percentage of children in the expanded European Union.
A new report says that more than 1.1 million children are now living in Ireland, one in four of the population.
The so-called baby boom has continued despite the country’s economic woes and the collapse of the Celtic Tiger.
The Irish Independent reports that the child population continued to rise in the decade to 2011, with a 13.4 per cent surge recorded.
The State of the Nation’s Children Report: Ireland 2012’ report reveals that Ireland has the highest percentage of children, at 25 per cent of the total population, in the expanded EU.
Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has claimed these statistics offer ‘unprecedented potential’ for Ireland’s economic future.
But her Government has warned that the stark rise in the under-17 population poses challenges in planning with schools set to need 3,000 new teachers over the next three years.
Minister Fitzgerald said: “Amongst the many challenges are improving the affordability and accessibility of childcare – particularly as the pre-school population has surged by 18 per cent since 2006.
“The level of public spending on early intervention and services for children needed to be reassessed by Government.
“We have had a legacy of providing direct cash payments, instead of investing in services.”
The Minister added that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will spend $320 million on early intervention and childcare services, compared to billions on child-benefit payments and allowances.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.awoken32 | Mar 14, 2013, 12:30 PM EDT
IRELAND NEEDS A MASS DEPORTATION PROGRAMME TO BE ROLLED OUT BEFORE THE NATIVE IRISH PEOPLE BECOME MINORITIES IN OUR OWN COUNTRY,LET THE PEOPLE VOTE ON IT AN WE WOULD GET THE ANSWER,PEOPLE THAT WANT THE NATIVE IRISH TO BECOME MINORITIES ON THEIR OWN COUNTRY SHOULD LEAVE IRELAND ALSO
warrenpoint00 | Mar 14, 2013, 10:58 AM EDT
You Woundedleg are reading the wrong history books, Latvians and Russians are not blond and blue eyed, that which is a requirement, by you and your nazi friends,to be part of the supreme race.You may be reading from the history books of the third reich you fool,Adolp is dead and his warped ideals are dead, despite you and your nazi friends attempts to revive them.Get back into your panzer.Attention all Poles,Russians and Latvians, please don your gas masks, a few loonies want to rewrite history,Hitler style, and they want to start their ethnic cleansing in Ireland.
Barry | Mar 14, 2013, 07:12 AM EDT
@KweenOHearts:If certain groups of people in the US (I presume you're referrng to Blacks) "stubbornly remain in dilapidated ghettos", that's because their forefathers were denied opportunities left, right amd centre by the white majority, including the Irish. You also ask me to give an example of the contributions by non-Europeans to countries like the US. Here's one: ever think about the fortunes made by white Americans off of black slave labour down through the years? Compare this to fortunate groups like the Irish who came to America with no skills or education and yet often found well-paid work thanks to labour unions, who, together with employers, discriminated against Blacks all the time.
WoundedKnee | Mar 14, 2013, 03:09 AM EDT
Warrenpint, you're a stupid bigot. The Irish were never predominantly "white ,blond hair and blue eyed". You can't see thru your bigotry and hate. But when I go to Ireland now I DO see lots of people who are "white ,blond hair and blue eyed". They're migrant Poles and Russians and Latvians, you dope, so within our lifetimes your dream will be realized, and the "Irish" (sic) will be "white ,blond hair and blue eyed".
warrenpoint00 | Mar 13, 2013, 08:59 PM EDT
Here they come with their attack ,on the internet highway, in their" Panzer" KweenOTarts is driving and woundedlegs is in the turret,get your gas masks ready and god help those who are not white ,blond hair and blue eyed. Adolph would have loved these dudes.
awoken32 | Mar 13, 2013, 07:42 PM EDT
@freeman.Being irish is in the blood an not were you are born,none of these immigrant kids are Irish,if your born in a stable doesnt make you a horse
WoundedKnee | Mar 13, 2013, 04:00 PM EDT
Kween: I always wondered what those digits in Warrenpint's ID represented. Thanks for solving that puzzle!
KweenOHearts | Mar 13, 2013, 02:42 PM EDT
warrenpoint00 -If I were you I'd ponder the following: When one has no argument to be made the easy route is to attack the person, from which comes the well known fallacy known as 'Argumentum ad hominem'. Thanks for listing next to your moniker the two digits that indicate your IQ. ---- @ Barry: If you care to read my post once more you might realize I was not talking about immigrants per se, although in the case of the US it was in fact immigrants from European countries, almost exclusively, who were responsible for the development of wealth and industry. -- Even native people, or people who came here from sub-Equatorial countries and have lived in this country for 4 and 5 hundred years, with all the government programs geared to benefit them, with all the billions in expenditures meant to elevate their economic and educational level, many if not most of these people stubbornly remain in dilapidated ghettos. A case in point is visible in cities like Los Angeles and New York. However, if you have any salient examples of massive contribution to the general wellbeing of this and other countries by non-Europeans... feel free to share. I'm waiting!
Eireannach | Mar 13, 2013, 12:40 PM EDT
Picture is misleading. The unprecedented rise in population is mainly as a result of immigrants (dubbed the 'new Irish' by the government) producing large families. As Ireland despite it's constant self pitying whine about no money etc etc etc has the highest welfare payments including 'childrens allowanc'e in the EU. This hasn't escaped the notice of the non EU welfare shoppers who go where the going is good. In another generation or so Ireland will no longer exist...
WoundedKnee | Mar 13, 2013, 12:20 PM EDT
"merely racist people"... I will let other posters speak for themselves, but Freeman you're an utter liar if you are referring to me. Why don't you have the courtesy to read some posts before coming out with these vicious slurs? Since you appear to be too dishonest and too lazy to read correspondence before jumping in like an elephant with diarrhea, I can state that I have on many occasions on this site defended communities who immigrated to Ireland, from 18th century French Protestants to 19th century Lithuanian Jews to 20th century Italians and Vietnamese. Of course you probably are ignorant of the Irish tradition of welcoming migrants and incorporating them. What I oppose is the current pathological rate of Mass Immigration to Ireland, which has produced a situation in which one walks down Dublin's O'Connell Street and finds that Irish are out numbered in their own capital city maybe four to one by foreign migrants. One looks at a school attendance sheet, and sees that half or more of the names are from Poland, China, Africa... I have pointed out that this must inevitably lead--by mid-century and probably earlier--to a situation in which Irish ethnicity is in terminal decline and no longer dominant on the island. At that point the concept of Irishness will become redundant. As someone who opposes globalization and values diversity, I do not wish to see the day when any small ethnicity or nation is extirpated. It appears you do, and that's your prerogative. But in your support of the destruction of Irish ethnicity and nationality at least have the manners to utter the truth, not lies. For example--and I have better things to do than correct your ignorance--it is a lie to state, as you did, that "all children born in Ireland are Irish". The Irish Constitution states to the contrary, so please read up before tossing your trash into our discussions.
Barry | Mar 13, 2013, 11:15 AM EDT
@KweenOHearts: You say "I'd like to hear how exactly any non-Europeans or Asians, throughout the history of the world have contributed to higher education, science, the development of industry, arts, and culture" This is an argument racists use all the time to justify their positions. Would you say the average Irish immigrant to the UK, the US, Canada and Australia down through the years was a well educated industrialist with an interest in science, the arts and culture? Me neither.
Freeman | Mar 13, 2013, 11:01 AM EDT
The headline states that Ireland has the largest number of children in the EU.I fail to understand how this is a race or foreign national issue.I would think that all children born in Ireland are Irish, so why such a rush to judge these children with racist anti black and anti Chinese comments.After all Ireland has a huge emigrant network across many nations and I would consider this mass migration as well.I see a few posters below including awoken32 are selective in the type of migrant that they want in their country, which leads me to conclude, that these few posters are not anti mass migrant, but merely racist people, there are a few in every country in the world.
warrenpoint00 | Mar 12, 2013, 10:05 PM EDT
So now we have four NAZIS, and they probably DO not live in our Nation of Ireland at all.We have Symarin, Awoken, woundedlegs of course he lives in the USA, and a bright,brand new "GAS"OMETER, going by the name of Kween of hearts.IrishCentral has more than one million contributors world wide and we have discovered four NAZIS among those millions of Irish people that contribute to this web site.IRELAND,that is the 32 counties of Ireland is in good shape my fellow Irish men,we have a very small percentage of racist,s in our great country,who knows those four clowns may be british trolls that stalk every Irish web site in their demented capacity to undermine the progress that our 323 county nation is making.I think they are all just "big black gay mens thongs", all four of those poor unfortunate NAZIS. slan abhaile , thong tinkers.
Smyrnian | Mar 12, 2013, 07:46 PM EDT
WoundedKnee - thank you. I consider myself enlightened about Eireianach's heretofore inexplicable behaviour and hateful attitude toward Catholics. Now I know. Personally, I find it hard to believe people like that still exist. I stand with your excellent comments.
Curitiba | Mar 12, 2013, 06:35 PM EDT
awoken32:"sure look at london the natives are in the minority already..." I feel a bit guilty about that because as an ethnic Irish person in London, I think I may be contributing to that problem! :D
Smyrnian | Mar 12, 2013, 06:00 PM EDT
Eireamach - I don't know, I think AngloNorman is ok so what's your beef with Anglo and myself? Differing opinions maybe? Heaven forbid.
Curitiba | Mar 12, 2013, 05:52 PM EDT
KweenOHearts: I fear your optimism may be misplaced. As in the UK, the increase in the birth rate is down to the "New Irish" having a higher fertility rate than the natives. How can the native birth rate be increasing when so many indigenous Irish are leaving, 70,000 or so a year?
KweenOHearts | Mar 12, 2013, 04:59 PM EDT
With all of Europe resolutely in the midst of demographic suicide, it is encouraging to know the Irish are bucking the trend; the white race, which is now unquestionably under siege from all directions, including self-decimation, may yet be saved! --- And yes Eerie, at the risk of sounding 'politically, culturally, and ethnically incorrect' in your perfect, non-white dominated, über-feminist controlled, perennially pontificating world... I'd like to hear how exactly any non-Europeans or Asians, throughout the history of the world have contributed to higher education, science, the development of industry, arts, and culture. Spare us quoting the oft repeated fable that a-rabs were eons ahead in math and science while Europe languished in the 'dark ages', because it's a fact they did not organically go from head-chopping. female-castrating brutes into Einsteins until they raped, beheaded and pillaged their way into the spoils of the countries they ravaged -which conveniently included the Alexandrian library, where they got their knowledge. [Oh wait.. there's also the development of music in the US, culminating in Gangsta RAP, not a small achievement!] -- But seriously folks... I'd like to hear the many examples you must surely have.
eiriamach | Mar 12, 2013, 03:16 PM EDT
"awoken32" is one of those who blew in from Stormfront a while ago and hangs around IC now to encourage the other ethnicity-obsessed one-notes like "angrypaddy" and "WoundedKnee." If this infection keeps spreading, soon we won't be able to find a blog on IC without racists pasting their paranoid agenda into it. Smyrnian, you should read their comments before you help them out, and the same goes for anglo-norman.
Smyrnian | Mar 12, 2013, 01:50 PM EDT
Warrenpoint - Please take your meds. You are off the deep end.
awoken32 | Mar 12, 2013, 11:20 AM EDT
warrenpoint you are in the tiny tiny minority here if you read the comments,most other posters are useing common sence,sure you hate your own people for godsake,thats sick
warrenpoint00 | Mar 12, 2013, 10:50 AM EDT
What a delusional bunch of paranoid clowns we have on here,(actually there is only three or four)thank god for that, and for Ireland,s sake.These are the clowns that are supportive of awokens nazi comments.These idiots hate everyone in the world that is not white and Irish, and god help you, if you want to set foot in their failed statelet that they are so concerned about.They rather not recognize their own failure, so then they blame foreign nationals for all of their problems.The thing is those problems always existed,long before foreign nationals entered the free state, but these nazi clowns fail to recognize this.The warped mindset of those people, is usually acquainted with illiteracy, illegitimacy,childhood abuse,laziness etc but my belief is that they are dangerous people,just like Adolph was.Thank god that they are such a small minority in Ireland, 32 county Ireland that is.
Curitiba | Mar 12, 2013, 09:03 AM EDT
Just because you are born in Ireland, it does not mean you are Irish, otherwise Northern Ireland would not exist. A group of people who value ancestry over birthplace chose to ally their region to a foreign country, just because they formed the majority in that part of the country. Currently, Polish, Lithuanian, Indian, Nigerian people are spread over Ireland and so none of them form a majority in any appreciable part of Ireland. But if Polish people (say) out populated everyone else in several neighboring counties, there's no reason why they could not use their numbers to break away from Ireland and form a union with Poland. You could equally apply this scenario to any other ethnic group who might outnumber the native population in the future. In Eastern Europe, borders have been shifting this way for centuries as populations move this way and that, so there is no reason why it could not happen in Ireland.
awoken32 | Mar 12, 2013, 12:28 AM EDT
@warrenpoint i have been working since i was 15 years old you muppet,you dont even know me an yes in the south of ireland,i ddont know were ou get your hatred for the irish from,you are a bitter hypocrite,sure last time we spoke you said you were a fianna fail an sinn fein supporter,whats up with that if you hate the people in the south?you are nothing but a pure judas traitor to the people of Ireland an that is a fact,an by the way you speak for yourself there,dont sit there an claim you represent people,you represent no-one,i have family up north an on the border,you my freind are nothing but a left wing politica, correct nutjob,jesus if you ever spoke the way yoy do infront of me,youd have a serious problem,now go on ye mouth ye
warrenpoint00 | Mar 11, 2013, 10:02 PM EDT
You ARE A FREE STATER awoken ,you never worked a day in your life and then you accuse other nationalities for taking your job...the job you never wanted,and were too lazy to get out of bed for .That is why your free state is a failure, YOU PEOPLE ARE NOT IRISH,why do you not understand this.People like you have ruined our nation,we are sick of you losers,go emigrate to some place like the great USA, where you can work 3 out of 5 days to subsidize your drinking habits and sing songs of Irish rebellion,a rebellion if it was in front of YOU ,you would run rather than fight it. This is your interpretation of what your great culture is.You free state loser,s, get out of my Irish nation.
awoken32 | Mar 11, 2013, 09:43 PM EDT
@warrenpoint i have to say that statement you made is pig ignorant,you saying stuff like that about the people of Ireland is nothing short of disgusting man,you do not deserve to be called Irish you an your family should be thrown out of the country,an you can bring you anti-irish view with you ,your a disgrace to your race
warrenpoint00 | Mar 11, 2013, 08:36 PM EDT
I love those numbers,actually all of us Irish people here in the North east of Ireland love the numbers.We are going to need these numbers in our future to salvage our country,s independence, and to be quite truthful we would rather have new Irish blood in our nation than what we have had in the recent past.The blood lines of the Irish free staters are never going to give our nation independence,we need to erase those god forsaken genes from our nation, any thing will be better for our nation,s future than those clowns that think that Ireland is a 26 county republic and those that think Irelands culture is being destroyed by foreign nationals.The culture of the Irish nation was destroyed by the people of Ireland that choose to divide our country,long before foreign nationals came to this failed starlet.Now those same clowns want some one to blame for their failure rather than themselves, so of course they are going to blame foreign nationals.FREE STATE LOSERS.
awoken32 | Mar 11, 2013, 06:17 PM EDT
Woundedknee i couldnt have said it better myself man
awoken32 | Mar 11, 2013, 06:16 PM EDT
anglo-norman were are you from?
awoken32 | Mar 11, 2013, 04:19 PM EDT
'barry angypaddy is correct,Ireland needs a mass depotation progamme
anglo-norman | Mar 11, 2013, 03:54 PM EDT
Do the Irish know what birth-control is or is their priests still in the bed with them?
WoundedKnee | Mar 11, 2013, 02:58 PM EDT
Barry, instead of nit-picking why don't you tell us why it will be a good thing for the Irish people as a nationality and an ethnos to be a minority in their own country within two or three decades?. What do you think was defective about Irish ethnicity that made it undeserving of surviving beyond the mid-21st century?? And are you uniquely anti-Irish, or are you a racist with similar desires to wipe out nationalities other than the Irish?
awoken32 | Mar 11, 2013, 01:44 PM EDT
Baary that is true,they are getting free everything ripping of our welfare system to the hilt by using multiple names etc etc,they are first in the cue for free housing,they should be mass deprorted out of the country,we are getting flooded my illegal mass immigration in ireland without a mandate from the people
Barry | Mar 11, 2013, 12:25 PM EDT
@angrypaddy: Stop talking rubbish about immigrants to Ireland getting "free everything". That's a myth.
awoken32 | Mar 11, 2013, 12:17 PM EDT
@curtisjohson i dont know what he was talking about at all lol,an i aggree with you angrypaddy our government are selling out their own people even their own family as it will be their kin wthat will have to deal with this aswell,that is our generation dont put a stop to it an start a mass deportation program.an with romania an bulgaria jionig the EU it will free up millions of them to come to ireland if they wish,we should leave that dictatorship aswell,im not racist against anyone,but that does not stop me from trying to preserve my culture,because what our politicans is doing is genocide against their own people,thats a fact an they should be held accountable
angrypaddy | Mar 11, 2013, 01:22 AM EDT
Where else in the world would you get it,the government paying illiterate unemployed white trash to breed more illitrate white unemployable excreta.At least in my day we used to buy black babies for a penny each so that they would stay in Africa now all they have to do is drop one in ireland and its like they won the lotto,free everything !! and then the rest of the tribe can joine the never ending party
curtisjohnson | Mar 11, 2013, 12:23 AM EDT
awoken32 - "then you go on to say we have the worst farming land lol" I think he's referring to the period when the indigenous population was forced into Connaught, the least arable part of Ireland.
aloistmartin | Mar 10, 2013, 08:15 PM EDT
Dublin counting its Peeps, like a Proud Hen ~
awoken32 | Mar 10, 2013, 07:24 PM EDT
@woundedknee beleive me when i say that 1 in 4 is a load of propaganda rubbish that you read somewhere,The true number is much much much higher man,i swear to god,sure its plain to see in any maternity hospital school or just to walk around you can see,The politicans in Ireland need to be tried for treason or if that cant happen,they should become targeted an dealth with,It wont take long before my people rise up
WoundedKnee | Mar 10, 2013, 05:04 PM EDT
The fact is that one baby in four born in Ireland is born to a foreign mother. In the light of the mass exodus of young Irish men and women, and the continued influx of young men and women of all nationalities, that means that the Irish as an ethnos will be in a minority in their own ancient homeland by about 2040. Hopefully, that's within my lifetime, but I don't think I want to be alive when it happens. However, it'll be an interesting case for the anthropologists--Ethnosuicide. Or maybe for zoologists--The Irish and the lemmings--they have something in common!
awoken32 | Mar 10, 2013, 04:31 PM EDT
@pittsburghkid are you smoking drugs over there in the states man?the english pushed the irish into Ireland?what are yoy talking about,the irish are natives to ireland an were not shipped here from england,an then you go on to say we have the worst farming land lol,Ireland is basically one big farm with the greenist grass you will ever see,i dont know what they smoke in pittsburg but its 100% dilluisonal
Pittsburghkid | Mar 10, 2013, 12:44 PM EDT
It was the Irish Mother, who save the Irish from being marginalized. The English pushed the Irish into the worst farming land in Ireland with the purpose of keeping the population down. It was the potato, pigs, butter milk, and the Irish Mothers, that created an Irish Catholic population boom.
awoken32 | Mar 10, 2013, 11:03 AM EDT
Looking at this article with its picture would give someone the impression that Irelands baby boom is because the irish are having lots of kids,when the truth is is that we have a babu boom because of the traitor governments openening our country wide open to mass immigration,the truth is is that these babies are not irish babies they are african babies asian babies an middle eastern babies with obviously some irish babies also,what is this gonna lead too?lots of trouble ahead with repatriation starting,Ireland needs a mass deportation programme an a true patriotic party in the Dail