It has been revealed that monies ring-fenced for the Government’s maternal safety strategy, including fighting sepsis, have been diverted to pay for abortion.

The National Maternity Plan was developed in response to official recommendations following the death of Savita Halappanavar from sepsis in 2012.

The Irish Times has reported, however, that the plan has received only a fraction of the funds set aside for it after the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, used it to pay for the State’s new abortion regime.

The move prompted one of only two patient advocates to resign from the board of the HSE.

Mark Malloy has been campaigning for greater accountability in the health service ever since his own child was one of a number of babies who died unnecessarily at Portlaoise hospital.

He told the Irish Times he resigned because the latest HSE service plan could only fund a fraction – 12 per cent – of the €8 million a year that was promised for the National Maternity Strategy as the rest of the funds were used to pay for Minister Harris’ abortion regime.