MONEY

Ireland is in the top 20 of spending per capita worldwide

CUTTING / SELF HARM

10% of teenagers cut or burn themselves to relieve stress and other psychological issues. The issue is getting bigger and more popular among younger teenagers. To this end there are dedicated ‘Self-harm’ teams in most A & E units in Irish hospitals. They deal mostly with 14-20 year olds.

TEENAGE PREGNANCY

The age of sexual consent for boys and girls is 17.
The age of an legal adult is 18.
Ireland has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe.

What is the fertility rate in Ireland compared to the EU?

Ireland’s fertility rate of 1.88 is one of the highest in the EU
(average for the EU 15 is 1.5).

Ireland’s fertility rate is currently below replacement level

• the level of fertility needed to ensure the population replaces itself.

The average age for mothers in Ireland to have their first child is 28
(30 years for married women and 25 years for unmarried women).

(CPA Statistical Report 2005)

How many teenagers give birth in Ireland?

• In 2005 there were 2427 births to teenagers (15-19), equivalent to
3.9% of total births that year. (CSO)

• The teenage birth rate in Ireland has been relatively stable over the
last 30 years. (CPA Statistical Report 2005)

• The majority of teenage births occur in females aged 18 to 19.
For example, in 2005 75% of all births to females under 20 were
to 18 and 19 year olds (1815 of 2427 births).

42 births were to girls age 15 and under. (CSO)

• The majority of births that take place to teenagers are first births
(90% in 2005).

Marriage and family formation

• 32% of all births occurred outside marriage in 2005. This includes lone
parents and parents in long-term and/or cohabiting relationships.

• The number of births outside marriage has increased since the 1970s:
in 1973 only 3.2% of births were outside marriage.

• In Ireland most crisis pregnancies end in live birth. Of all women who
had a crisis pregnancy, 75% gave birth and parented the baby, 6% had a
miscarriage, 15% had an abortion and 1% experienced a stillbirth.
(ICCP Survey)

• 11% of the population lives in one-parent families – an increase of 24.5%
since 1996. Just under a quarter of persons in the state experiencing
consistent poverty live in lone-parent-headed households.
(CPA FGS Report)

ABORTION

Three quarters of all foreign women attending British clinics for abortions give an address in Ireland. Thats an estimated 7,000 Irish women. The number of teenagers travelling to Britain for abortions climbs sharply during the first three months of the year. There are undoubtedly more Irish women obtaining abortions in other countries, including Holland, America and Australia. Economic researchers estimate that the Irish exchequer benefits to the tune of over £60,000 a year in the transport taxes alone paid by those travelling for an abortion. Airlines and ferry companies earn around £7,500 per day from these same women.