Those desperate for a baby are let down by lack of state regulation

Ireland is one of only three countries in the EU where fertility treatments are not funded by the State, writes Alison O’Connor.

WE ARE soon set to be convulsed by a referendum debate over the thousands of Irish women who end their pregnancies in abortion each year, but the chances are we will continue to ignore the ones who are desperate to get pregnant and turn to science for help.

The assisted human reproduction (AHR) sector is a multimillion-euro industry in Ireland, responsible for around 3% of all Irish births every year, but successive governments have almost tried to pretend that it does not exist.