Vol. 404 No. 5
74 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on recent reports that there has been a dramatic increase of 13 per cent in the number of women from the Republic of Ireland who had abortions in England in the June quarter of 1990 compared to the same period in 1989, according to statistics just released by the United Kingdom Government; and the action he proposes to take to deal with the problem.
I am of course concerned that women from this country have abortions in the UK.
The Deputy will be aware that there is a wide range of services including counselling available to support expectant mothers and every encouragement must be given to women to use these services. The Deputy will also be aware that comprehensive information and advice in relation to family planning is readily available through general practitioners, family planning clinics, other voluntary organisations and various professional personnel in both hospital and community settings.
