Department of Health unsure of number of legal abortions carried out in 2021

The department said the Minister for Health has a statutory obligation to report the figures notified to him. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

The Department of Health doesn’t know exactly how many legal abortions were carried out in Ireland last year.

The department was notified of 4,577 abortions in accordance with the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, but officials have admitted the actual figure is much higher.