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Northern Ireland is Dying on its Feet

Northern Ireland is approaching a key demographic turning point, with official figures predicting pensioners will exceed children within the next year. 

Key Takeaways:

• By summer of 2027, the number of pensioners in Northern Ireland are expected to outnumber children.

• Deaths are predicted to outnumber births by 2030.

• Government leaders are warning of the consequences to health care, social services, schools, and more.

Based on recent population figures for NI, released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the over-65 population will surpass the number of children in NI by mid-2027. By 2030, the number of deaths will outnumber births. NI’s overall population is expected to hit its zenith at 1.94 million in mid-2031 before retreating into long-term decline, decreasing to 1.91 million by 2049.

Observers have cautioned that the real concern for policymakers is not the overall decline itself, but the specific age groups most impacted by the decrease.

The over-65 population is expected to grow by 44.7% over the next quarter century; simultaneously, those over age 85 are expected to more than double, rising from 42,900 to 96,900. Projections also reveal both the steepest decline in NI’s child population — down 23.8% — and the most significant growth in the pension-age population, which is predicted to increase 32.2%, the highest in the United Kingdom (UK). 

'Dead' Man Wakes After Botched Euthanasia

After having been pronounced dead, a patient woke up after a botched euthanasia attempt, leading to his doctor being placed under supervision by the province’s physicians’ regulator due to repeated failures to adhere to protocols and procedures. 

Dr James MacLean was the subject of two complaints relating to two cases involving Canada’s euthanasia and assisted suicide regime, known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).

In one case, one of MacLean’s patients who wished to end their life resumed breathing after being declared dead due to the improper application of the fatal mix of substances. MacLean gave a 67-year-old cancer patient an anaesthetic, rather than the neuromuscular-blocking medication normally used in euthanasia cases, because he could not find where he had put it. 

The doctor pronounced the patient, who has not been named, dead; however, shortly after he left the patient’s home, he resumed breathing. MacLean returned to the patient’s home, gave him additional substances, including the neuromuscular-blocking medication, and shortly thereafter pronounced him dead for the second time. 

After this, and another case where one of his patients had his euthanasia assessment conducted outside a doughnut shop, MacLean’s general conduct was reviewed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and it was determined that MacLean displayed a lack of judgment in his decisions, dealt with patients in a way that “raised a risk of perceived coercion”, and kept inadequate records.

The College found that MacLean’s conduct “exposes or is likely to expose patients to harm or injury in five out of twenty [patient] charts reviewed”. They gave MacLean a caution, and agreed to several conditions relating to his practise, including a minimum six-month clinical supervision and unannounced inspections of his practice locations and patient records.

None of these concerns regarding MacLean’s conduct were escalated to the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal, where allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence are adjudicated.

There have been a total of 76,475 instances of euthanasia and assisted suicide from when they were made legal in Canada in 2016 until the end of 2024.