More than 180 same-sex marriages were registered in the first three months of 2016, according to the CSO’s latest quarterly vital statistics – the first full set since new marriage legislation came into effect.
The number of marriages registered in the first quarter of 2016 was 3,539, of which 186 were same-sex marriages.
The figure is likely to be higher in subsequent quarters because, although civil partnership is no longer available for same-sex couples, couples who had given the required three months’ notice of a civil partnership prior to November 16th, 2015, were still entitled to have the ceremony after that date.
There were 16,480 births in the first three months of 2016, which is 703 fewer births compared with the same period in 2015. This corresponds to a birth rate of 14.2 per 1,000 population, a decrease of 0.7 from quarter one 2015. There were 8,537 male births and 7,943 female births in quarter 1 2016.
There were 63 infant deaths registered giving an infant mortality rate of 3.8 per 1,000 live births.
The average age of first time mothers was 30.8, up 0.2 years from the same period in the previous year. The average age of first time mothers outside marriage/civil partnership was 28.4.
The highest percentage of births outside marriage/civil partnership was in Limerick City at 51.8 per cent and the lowest was in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, with 24.4 per cent.
There were 8,609 deaths registered in quarter 1 2016, of these 4,339 were male while 4,270 were female. The quarter 1 2016 total is 0.1 per cent higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2015 when 8,604 deaths were registered.
The leading cause of death in quarter one 2016 varied widely by age group. Among young adults aged 15 to 34, external causes of death including accidents, suicide and other ranked first. Among individuals aged 35-74, cancers were the leading cause, while for those aged 75 and older, it was diseases of the heart and arteries.
The natural increase in the population (births minus deaths) for the first three months of 2016 was 7,871.