THERE were 186 abortions carried out in Limerick in 2021, according to the most recent records available from the Department of Health.
And, because the figures cover a period in which there was a cyber-attack on HSE records, that number may be higher when a full reconciliation of reporting is finalised later in the year.
The Limerick figures were the fourth highest in the country, with 1,618 terminations notified to the department from GP and medical facilities in Dublin, 408 in Cork, and 206 in Galway.
A total of 4,577 abortions were notified to the Department of Health countrywide in 2021.
The recorded figures do not include abortions using medications bought over the internet.
GPs and other clinical facilities are required by law to notify numbers of terminations to the Department but these terminations are logged by the place of residence of the woman undergoing the procedure. No other personal data or identifying data is recorded.
In a footnote to the figures, the Department noted that for a number of months during 2021, the numbers dropped dramatically. This has been attributed to the fact that clinicians were hampered in reporting by a shut down in facilities to do so.
The Department is now revisiting the issue, asking any clinician who has unreported data to report it now.
No local breakdown is available for the reasons for terminations but, nationally, the majority were early pregnancy abortions, totalling 4,513.
53 were allowed on the grounds of fatal foetal abnormality, nine for reasons of a risk to life or health, and two in a situation where there was an emergency risk to life or health.
