In Ireland, the number of births continues to exceed deaths, but only thanks to the contribution of immigrant communities. In the first quarter of 2025, for the first time on record, more Irish nationals died than were born, a watershed moment. The overall fertility rate for the country is now 1.5, well below the replacement...
The annual Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) pilgrimage took place in Knock last weekend. Aid to the Church in Need is an international pontifical charity that devotes itself to helping persecuted Christians all over the world. It also draws attention to what it sometimes calls the ‘polite persecution’ of Christians in the West,...
A new United Nations report is calling for the eradication of surrogacy in all its forms, arguing that the practice inherently harms both women and children. It also recommends punishing buyers, clinics and agencies. Ireland should pay attention. We have one of the most permissive surrogacy laws in Europe although it is awaiting commencement for...
Fresh figures from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, show the scale of Europe’s demographic challenge. In 2024, there were about 4.82 million deaths across the EU but only 3.56 million births, a deficit of almost 1.3m. In other words, when you compare births with deaths alone, Europe’s population is shrinking. So why is the...
Since the 2018 referendum repealing the Eighth Amendment, the number of abortions in Ireland has continued to rise. According to the annual report produced by the Department of Health recently the number rose to 10,852 in 2024 compared with 6,666 in 2019. This represents a 63pc increase. Additionally, 201 Irish residents had abortions in England,...
News emerged this week of a woman, Maureen Slough, who recently travelled from Ireland to Switzerland to end her life through assisted suicide. Her family only learned of her death afterwards, leaving them devastated. The case further reveals the existence in Switzerland of what is sometimes called ‘suicide tourism’ whereby people travel there to avail...
In Britain recently it was announced to huge fanfare that eight babies had been born using a new genetic technique which ensured they were not born with a hereditary condition which could have fatal consequences. The babies have three genetic parents, and the new technique was treated as an unambiguous good in almost all media....
New figures quietly released by the Government show that last year almost 11,000 abortions took place in Ireland, a new record high. The actual figure might be higher than this, because hospitals have not reported their full data yet, according to the Pro-Life Campaign. In her column last Saturday in The Irish Times, Iona Institute...
Concern about the world’s declining birth rates is growing; last year, the Office for National Statistics announced that ‘Fewer children are being born in England and Wales and the fertility rate is at its lowest level on record.’ Ireland’s fertility rate has also dropped well below replacement. Echoing the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recent...
New figures show that the number of people applying to divorce has fallen somewhat, seeming to reverse a previous upward trend, but look closer and you will see that divorce is becoming more common in Ireland, relatively speaking, that is, when compared with the numbers marrying each year, which is in steep decline. In fact,...
