It will be 2019 before all pregnant women are automatically offered an anomaly scan to find out if their unborn baby suffers from a serious, terminal condition. The anomaly scans were meant to be made far more widely available on time for the new abortion legislation, which is due to come into force in January so as to allow women, whose baby has been diagnosed with such a condition, to abort the baby in a clinic or hospital in this country.

Only seven of the 19 maternity hospitals provide the 20-week scan as a routine. A partial service is provided in five others, where it is clinically indicated by a doctor but there is no anomaly scanning, according to the most recent survey.

There had been a plan to hire an additional 28 ultrasonographers, who deliver the scans, this year but it will be 2019 before full access is provided, according to the HSE’s Kilian McGrane in a response to Sinn Féin spokeswoman on health Louise O’Reilly.