Birth rate in Ireland hit a high as Irish get kinky

Everyone in Ireland seems to be mad for a bit of sex these days. The most recent research reveals that Irish men and women are topping the polls for being among the most "adventurous lovers" in the world.

Akin to this, Ireland’s Central Statistics Office revealed this week that the country had the highest fertility rate of the 27 European Union states in 2009.

Separate to the CSO stats, the sexual wellbeing survey revealed that the Irish use more sex toys than the French, more lubricants than the Germans and one in five say they are up for a threesome. Is this an effect of “Fifty Shades of Grey”, I wonder?

Despite this adventurous streak, the research found just 13 percent of respondents always use a condom to protect against STIs and unplanned pregnancies.

Based on this survey, no one could say the Irish are prudes as 42 percent openly discuss their sex lives with their partner.

Commissioned by Durex, the study showed that one in ten Irish people wanted to experiment with a striptease in the bedroom, while 11 percent said they would like some massage as part of foreplay.

The survey questioned 29,003 adults in 36 countries, reports the Irish Examiner.

In related news, the latest figures show that more children were born in 2009 in Ireland, since 1891.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that there were 75,554 births in Ireland in 2009, the highest recorded number in over a century.

“The total period fertility rate, or the average number of children per woman, was 2.10 in 2009, the same rate as in 2008,” according to the CSO.

The results of the Durex survey seem to support  the CSO’s figures. Do you think the Irish are a frisky nation?