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It pointed out that 'peak baby' and peak child' milestones were reached in 2010 and 2024, respectively. Policy Analyst with the NESC, Dr Gráinne Collins, told Newstalk that more comprehensive data is needed to plan for the future. "We don’t know, for instance, why women are not having as many babies as they say they want to," Dr Collins added. The report warned that Ireland risks having insufficient workers and tax revenues to support an ageing population, as fewer children are born in Ireland every year. We’ve now passed peak child, 2024, so that from now on there’s going to be 15,000 less children born each year in Ireland," Dr Collins said.

Galway jockey Paul Kavanagh (20) was killled in a road collision in Limerick on Christmas Eve. Photo: rip.ieMembers of the racing community and beyond have paid tribute following the tragic passing of Galway jockey Paul Kavanagh on Christmas Eve. Mr Kavanagh had been part of Enda Bolger’s yard in Limerick for the past two years, having also rode for trainer David Loughnane in the UK. Paying tribute to Mr Kavanagh on social media, Mr Loughnane expressed his shock and sadness at the young jockey’s untimely passing. “May you all find strength in the coming days [and] months ahead.”Funeral details for Mr Kavanagh are yet to be announced.

In the 11 months from January to November in 2025, sheep slaughterings dropped by 18.5% compared to 2024 figures. According to the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) slaughterings report for November 2025, the 18.5% drop in sheep slaughterings equates to 489,000 heads, bringing it to a total number of 2.2m heads slaughtered in the 11 months. Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA) Sheep chair Willie Shaw has hit out at meat factories for pulling sheep prices in the week before Christmas, despite sheep numbers dropping by nearly 20%. “Sheep throughput this year is down by around 20% on last year, which amounts to a staggering 600,000 fewer sheep in the system. This is an even sharper drop when compared to 2023 figures, where sheep slaughterings saw 293,000 slaughtered in the month of November.

A drop in the birth rate could lead to a major economic impact in future, report finds (PA)The government must take action to tackle a falling birth rate by addressing housing, healthcare, education and public transport issues because an ageing population risks future economic stability, a new report has said. This scenario has been triggered by a falling birth rate. A fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is considered the replacement level necessary for a stable population, according to the United Nations (UN). There’s been a “sharp and sustained fall in births”, the report stated. However, the council warns: “To maintain a healthy balanced demographic cycle Ireland needs to welcome migrants.” Immigrant children add to the numbers of children born here, the report says.

Ryanair’s CEO O’Leary accounts for majority, with stock and options worth over €1.4bnThe bosses at ten of Ireland’s biggest stock market-listed companies are sitting on combined shares and options valued at more than €2bn in their firms after what has been a stellar year for global stocks. Ryanair group chief executive Michael O’Leary is now sitting on shares and options currently worth more than €1.4bn after shares in the airline jumped 53pc this year. Photo: Steve HumphreysToday's News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, Dec 30At AIB, chief executive Colin Hunt is sitting on 64,322 shares, currently worth just under €600,000. CEO Myles O’Grady owns about 55,000 shares in the group, having acquired additional shares during 2025. Its CEO, Ed Scanlon, has just over 86,000 shares, almost equally split between directly-owned shares and options.

Photo: GettySoftBank has agreed to acquire private equity firm DigitalBridge in a deal valuing the data centre investor at $4bn (€3.4bn) including debt. DigitalBridge is one of the biggest investment firms focused on digital infrastructure, with about $108bn of assets under management at the end of September, according to its website. The deal will bring to SoftBank relationships with more investors keen to deploy money in the data centre industry. SoftBank has separately been discussing a potential acquisition of Switch, a data centre operator backed by investors including DigitalBridge. It later sold its stake to a group including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and Fortress management.

Today’s recommendations feature two Irish-made sparkling wines. The evening was organised by Vinoinfluencers Awards Wine Sommelier 2025, Jonathan Staunton (@winelistguy). His ‘Trouble With Dreams’ sparkling wine was named one of the Top 50 Wines in the World for its 2009 magnum at the Decanter 2025 World Wine Awards, where it won Best in Show among all the sparkling wines. Yellow Spot (€85) is typically 12 years with some Malaga cask influence; Red Spot (€125) is 15 years with Marsala cask influence. These grapes grow in polytunnels but Llewellyn grows his Rondo vines uncovered for his appealing red wine (€60).

More than a million people must act now to avoid health insurance hikeAs they renew cover, policyholders advised to check out new plans to save money, even if by the same providerHalf of those with insurance will renew their cover between now and February. Photo: GettyCharlie Weston Today at 06:30Health insurers are pushing up prices just as 1.25 million people are due to renew their cover.

Four in five patients on trolleys are waiting in emergency departments, new data showsFour in five people on trolleys at Irish hospitals are waiting in the emergency departments, new data has shown. The current number of patients waiting for beds marks a slight drop in comparison to previous figures. Last week on Monday, just before Christmas, 285 patients were waiting on trolleys across Irish hospitals, with 185 patients at emergency departments and 100 patients in other wards, according to the INMO data. Cork University Hospital and Letterkenny University Hospital saw 19 patients on trolleys each, including 19 patients and three patients waiting in their emergency departments, consecutively. Across the eastern hospitals, the most patients waiting on trolleys were in St Vincent's University Hospital, with all 11 patients in the emergency department.

The letter also revealed that officials had serious concerns over the operation of the hospital in Ballina. It stated that the hospital’s medical officer should have made further efforts to ascertain if a bed had been available for Ms Duffy. The board also said Ballina District Hospital should be able to provide an additional fifth bed in its maternity ward. However, the GP said he was informed that there was no bed available for Ms Duffy after contacting the matron. Dr Keane said he also contacted the matron two or three times again the following day to try and get Ms Duffy admitted but was “to be disappointed”.

There was a “degree of sloppiness” in how electrical apprentice exams were dealt with, the higher education minister has said, after concerns arose that examination papers were being sold. In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Lawless said he first became aware of the issue ahead of the summer. Solas 'a victim of its convoluted history'“It is a very significant further education and apprenticeship training agency, it’s got a budget of €1bn. Mr Lawless said these integrations were not done as a proactive move, and there was a need to “overhaul the whole system”. “Often it’s not done for decades or more,” Mr Lawless said.

Luke Littler shrugs off boos to beat Rob Cross in last 16 at World ChampionshipBy Press Association Sport ReportersLuke Littler shrugged off the boos to book his place in the last eight of the PDC World Championship with a 4-2 win over former champion Rob Cross at Alexandra Palace. A charged-up Littler told Sky Sports: “I’m not bothered (about the crowd). You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize money, so thank you for my money, thank you for booing me. Littler survived a minor scare to beat Rob Cross. Charlie Manby’s dream World Championship debut continued as he beat an out-of-sorts Ricky Evans 4-2 at to seal his place in round four.

The jump in recruitment comes following a modernised recruitment process and new ad campaigns invested in by the Defence ForcesNew online recruitment campaigns by the Defence Forces have helped increase sign-ups by 34pc in 2025. This year the Defence Forces introduced a modernised recruitment processes, enhanced branding, increased use of direct entry roles along with dedicating additional staff to recruitment and improved applicant journey experience and timelines. The Defence Forces spent heavily on online advertising this year in an attempt to boost recruitments, with advertising on Twitch, Facebook, TikTok and on outdoor billboards. Earlier this year, the Israeli Defence Forces fired shots in close proximity to a joint Irish Unifil and Lebanese armed forces patrol near Camp Shamrock. The Defence Forces also has staff officers and non commissioned officers deployed to the EU Military Assistance Mission Ukraine (EUMAM-UA).

Homegrown heroesKingfishr and Amble both released their debut albums in 2025 - of course Halycon and Reverie hit top spot in the charts. Meanwhile, Luke Combs was the top-searched artist of 2025 in Ireland — he’s got two dates booked at Slane Castle next July, with The Script as special guests. AI musicThere were any number of stories about AI in music that might make you worry about the future for real artists. A stark illustration of just how messy — and ungoverned — the AI music landscape has already become. Swift stumblesThe Eras Tour finished up in December 2024, but Taylor Swift was still busy in 2025.