Here's a fast implementation in Swift using CIGaussianBlur:
func blur(image image: UIImage) -> UIImage {
let radius: CGFloat = 20;
let context = CIContext(options: nil);
let inputImage = CIImage(CGImage: image.CGImage!);
let filter = CIFilter(name: "CIGaussianBlur");
filter?.setValue(inputImage, forKey: kCIInputImageKey);
filter?.setValue("\(radius)", forKey:kCIInputRadiusKey);
let result = filter?.valueForKey(kCIOutputImageKey) as! CIImage;
let rect = CGRectMake(radius * 2, radius * 2, image.size.width - radius * 4, image.size.height - radius * 4)
let cgImage = context.createCGImage(result, fromRect: rect);
let returnImage = UIImage(CGImage: cgImage);
return returnImage;
}