THE NATIONAL BIRTH rate has decreased by 9 per cent in the first quarter of this year according to new figures released today.

There were 17,563 new babies born in the first three months of the year representing an annual birth rate of 15.3 per 1,000 population, down on  the 16.9 per 1,000 last year. The Fingal area of Dublin  recorded the highest birth rate of 19.6 while Donegal recorded the lowest birth rate of 11.4.

Research from the Central Statistics Office show that 36.5 per cent of the total births were to parents outside marriage, a marginal increase on last year. The highest percentage of births outside marriage occurred in Limerick City at 58 per cent, while the lowest percentage occurred in Leitrim at 22 per cent.

Births to unmarried parents with the same address accounted for 21 per cent of  the total number. There were two births registered as being within civil partnerships in quarter 1 2013.

Marriages and deaths

Marriages are on the up so far this year with 3,642 taking place in the first quarter of 2013, 815 more than the corresponding quarter of 2012. The number of civil partnerships registered in the first quarter of 2013 was 52. This is equivalent to an annual rate of 0.05 per 1,000 population.

Of the 8,347 deaths recorded in the first quarter of the year, one third were attributed to circulatory disease while malignant cancers were attributed as the cause of death in 27.3 per cent of cases.

Causes of death varied widely depending on age with external causes including accidents or suicide ranking as the leading cause of death among young adults aged 15 to 34.

There were 55 infant deaths registered in quarter 1 2013 giving an infant mortality rate of 3.1 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Read: Births and deaths are down but marriages are up in Q3 2012 >

Read: Almost 1,000 civil partnerships in Ireland in 2012 >