Failure to offer all pregnant women a 20-week foetal anomaly scan will result in 230 missed cases of congenital abnormalities every year with potentially devastating consequences for families.

Women who suffer from depression during and after pregnancy are often reluctant to admit to it for fear their baby will be taken into care.

There would be almost 200 fewer alcohol-related deaths every year with the introduction of a minimum alcohol price of €1 per unit, Government commissioned research has shown.

THE Government has misled the public on how much it has spent on the health service, it has failed to meet healthcare promises made in the 2002 election and wants to waste taxpayers’ money on a private system, which will mean greater inequality.