PEOPLE WERE BUSY in Tallaght, Dublin in 2022 as it recorded the highest birth rate in the country, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office.

A total of 13.7 babies were born for every 1,000 Tallaght residents that year, the data shows.

Meanwhile, it was a quiet year for those in the Glenties, Co Donegal, where just 7.4 babies were born for every 1,000 residents. 

The new figures break down the birth rate by local area.

While Tallaght had the highest number of births for every 1,000 residents, Dublin’s north inner city recorded the highest number of total newborns in 2022 and had 701 new birthdays to celebrate in 2023. 

The national birthrate in 2022 was recorded at 10.2, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Statisticians recorded an increase in the number of local areas where there was a greater number of deaths than births for the first time in 2022.

In 2022, the number of local electoral areas which recorded more deaths than births had risen to 15. It is a large increase when compared with the 2019 to 2021 average of three.

Enniscorthy, Co Wexford (57.0), Newcastle West, Co Limerick (53.5), Loughrea, Co Galway, Tramore-Waterford City West, Co Waterford, and Moate, Co Westmeath (all 52.9) recorded the highest general fertility rate in 2022.

Urban LEAs such as Galway city (27.8), south-east inner city in Dublin (29.7), and north inner city in Dublin (31.6) had the lowest general fertility rate per 1,000 women.

With reporting by Press Association