There was a small increase in the birth rate in the first three months of this year, with more than 17,500 babies born during that time.

Less than half as many people died between January and March, with heart the disease the most common cause of death.

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that a total of 17,699 new babies were born in the first three months of this year - up 3% on the same time last year and giving Ireland a birth rate of 15.4 per thousand population.

Of those, there were slightly more boys than girls. The vast majority were born in Dublin city and the fewest in Leitrim.

The average age of first time mothers was 30 years and six months - up slightly on the same time in 2013.

More than 11,000 babies were born to married couples and eight of those registered as civil partnerships.

There were 65 infant deaths in the three months to March, giving an infant mortality rate of 3.7 per thousand live births. That is up 0.6 on last year.

Meanwhile, just over 8,000 people died in the first quarter of this year.

Diseases of the heart and arteries caused over 2,500 of those, while 77 people died by suicide.

When broken down in to age categories, external causes of death including accidents and suicide was the most common cause of death for those aged between 15 and 34.