An expert in foetal maternal medicine at the National Maternity Hospital has said some 30 pregnancies were terminated in 2015 because of a pre-natal Down Syndrome diagnosis.

Dr Peter McParland was speaking at this weekend’s meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly, which is discussing the issue of abortion and the Eighth Amendment.

He told the Assembly many pregnant women were choosing to pay for a test to determine whether their child had Down Syndrome.

“When the baby is not ok, they have this difficult dilemma,” he said..

“In some countries, in 10 or 15 years there will be no babies with Down Syndrome at all. Ireland is not in that situation, but we have 30 out of potentially 100 who were not born in 2015 because women chose to terminate.”

Dr McParland also said that he believes more women would choose abortions in cases of foetal anomalies if such an option were available.