Action... 21 years late

In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled on the X case. After 21 years of inaction from six governments, the rules on abortion may finally change, writes Political Correspondent Mary Regan

SIX governments had, for more than two decades, ignored the Supreme Court ruling in the X case that an abortion is constitutional in Ireland where there was a real and substantial risk to the life to the mother, including from suicide.

In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ireland must give legal effect to the 1992 Supreme Court ruling. An expert group was established to look at the European ruling this issue at the start of 2012.