There may never be an abortion carried out in Ireland on the grounds that a woman is suicidal because she is likely to travel to England in such circumstances, according to the Master of the National Maternity Hospital , Rhona Mahony.

The Master of the Rotunda Hospital, Dr Sam Coulter Smith, has said the inclusion of suicide in the new abortion legislation poses a "moral dilemma" for doctors.

The head of one of the country’s leading maternity hospitals has warned that HSE cutbacks are putting expectant mothers’ lives at risk, following the worst official annual death rate in a decade.

Sites in Blanchardstown and Belcamp in Dublin are not right for the new National Children's Hospital, according to the Master of the Rotunda hospital, Sam Coulter Smith.

Doctors working in the country’s maternity services have warned of a threat to the lives of mothers and babies if a predicted exodus of midwives, in an effort to avoid pension cuts, takes place next month.

THE imminent swine flu vaccine may not be “suitable” for pregnant women, a leading Irish expert has admitted.