asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the fact that County Kildare had the highest infant mortality rate of 20.9 per 1,000 in the country in 1987.

The last full year for which infant mortality rates are available is 1986. In 1986, County Kildare had an infant mortality rate of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births which was somewhat lower than the national rate of 8.7 per 1,000. The most recent statistics relate to the second quarter of 1987 and record an infant mortality rate of 4.2 per 1,000 live births for County Kildare. This compares favourably with the corresponding national rate for that quarter of 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births.