Under Section 20 (1) of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, a notification of each termination of pregnancy carried out under the legislation must be notified to the Minister within 28 days of it being carried out.
My Department has acknowledged that it is reasonable to conclude, based on the information available, that the number of terminations of pregnancy notified to the Minister was substantially lower than the number of terminations carried out in 2021. In the preparation of the 2021 Annual Report and the associated processing of the notifications received, Department officials identified the lower number of notifications received compared to 2019 and 2020. In response, my Department engaged with the HSE with a view to identifying any underpinning reasons for this reduction.
It is recognised that 2021 was an enormously challenging year for the health service. Not only was the system dealing with the incredible challenge posed by COVID-19 pandemic, but it was also hugely impacted by the cyber-attack on the HSE. This attack meant that many healthcare facilities had to manage their services, referrals and other standard practices in the absence of established digital solutions. It is reasonable to assume that the combination of these events contributed to the shortfall in notifications received for the year.
Annual Reports have been published for the years 2019-2025 inclusive, and are available on the Government of Ireland website at []www.gov.ie/en/department-of-health/collections/annual-reports-on-notifications-in-accordance-with-the-health-regulation-of-termination-of-pregnancy-act-2018/.
My Department regularly engages with the HSE and service providers to ensure as far as practicable the accuracy and integrity of the notification process.
