Only 2.5pc of women who sought abortions at the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) decided against a termination in the end, after the mandatory three-day wait. This is far lower than the national average of one in six women deciding not to go ahead with an abortion after an initial consultation with a doctor.

In the first three years of the abortion law, when almost 20,000 abortions were recorded nationally, there were 3,951 women, or 1 in 6, who did not proceed to a second appointment after their first, whereas for the IFPA, the corresponding figure is 1 in 40.

Data published on Wednesday show 484 women attended IFPA clinics in Tallaght and Dublin city centre in 2021 seeking abortion. Of these, 459 were eligible for a first trmester, abortion on request. Of these 12 did not make further contact after their first consultation.