12 babies born to girls 15 and under

There were 12 babies born to girls aged 15 and under in the first three months of this year, CSO figures reveal.

A further 16 girls aged 16 years also gave birth .

The statistics do not give details of any of the 28 girls’ backgrounds. However, if their babies were conceived in this country, under Irish law, the mothers would have been victims of rape or statutory rape as the age of consent here is 17 years.