The rate of teenage pregnancies in Ireland has plummeted, latest figures show.
According to annual figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the year 2014 saw 23 births to mothers aged 15 and under, a decline of 44% in the space of five years.
Overall, the birth rate in Ireland was slightly down in 2014, with 67,462 births, a drop of 1,468 since 2013.
Meanwhile, 33% of all births in 2014 were outside marriage.
However, despite that latter statistic, the CSO figures also reveal that 2014 showed the greatest numbers of people marrying since a previous high in 2008. Last year, fully 22,045 marriages were recorded in the State. The ages of those opting to marry also saw a new high with the average age for men marrying at 35, and for women at 33.
Within the marital trend, the CSO figures show that women are putting off having children until they are older. While the number for children born to women aged 45 and older was just 248, a full 37% of all births were to mothers aged 30-34, at 24,850.
Meanwhile, for civil partnerships in the final full year before the passage of the same-sex marriage referendum, the CSO recorded 392 civil partnership ceremonies – 242 between men and 150 between women.
