Reproduction becomes a (baby) booming industry

ASSISTED reproduction is a booming industry in this country, with nine clinics opening in the past 15 years.

Up to 4,000 couples have assisted reproduction treatments each year with most of those paying out thousands of euro to private clinics.

Average payments include €120 for an initial consultation, about €100 for each of the blood tests and then up to €8,000 for the most expensive treatments such as ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) with egg donation.