SubscribeSubscriber OnlyLettersDeclining birth rate across 20 yearsThe Irish Times - Letters to the Editor. Tue Jun 16 2026 - 06:00 • 1 MIN READSir, – I am confused: pressure in Irish maternity services.Yet, 20,000 fewer births a year compared to two decades ago. What am I missing? – Yours, etc,John Teeling,Clontarf Rd,READ MOREFourteen great new restaurants to try in Ireland this summer‘Indecent’ Ulysses: The British ban and how it was liftedBloomsday: If I lived in Ireland I may never have started this slightly insane art projectRevealed: Secret video shows men plotting to squeeze money out of Denis O’Brien and Michael LowryDublin 3.IN THIS SECTIONPressure point in maternity care?World Cup ticket prices have come a long way from what I paid in 1966 Lands in Lucan: To build, or notPrivate and public healthcareHealthcare: That ever-extending waitMOST READMan dies after being struck by Luas tram in Dublin city centreCiara Mageean: ‘I probably won’t make my 40th birthday. That’s rough’Ciara Mageean in her own words: ‘I was told she didn’t want to coach me any more’Salesforce to buy Irish-founded tech firm Fin for $3.6bn Enoch Burke claims Teaching Council inquiry biased as he seeks High Court injunctionLATEST STORIESGardaí investigating after woman (80s) found dead in Co WaterfordWe’re a nation of savers that are actually quite bad at saving Fostering 30 children: ‘You don’t just change their lives, they change yours as well’UniCredit-Commerzbank battle turns nastyStephen Rochford: Kerry and Armagh never imagined it coming to this