A Garda investigation is underway after a 12-year-old Irish girl had an abortion in Britain.
Clinic staff alerted authorities here and efforts are now being made to establish if the father is a teenage boy.
The Irish Times reports that the 12-year-old girl at the centre of this investigation had a pregnancy terminated at a British clinic in the past 12 months.
Clinic staff were concerned about the childs age and called in Irish authorities who are now investigatnig the circumstances that led to the termination.
Gardaí are understood to have conducted DNA testing on the foetus to try to establish if the father is a 15-year-old boy as was claimed.
In Ireland the age of consent is 17 and anyone convicted of sex with a 12-year-old faces a potential life term behind bars.
Gardaí are understood to be working in an effort to rule out the possibility that an adult was involved in the girl becoming pregnant, however the Irish Times article suggests it is likely that a file will be prepared for the DPP.
The case has also been referred to the child and family agency TUSLA which says it won’t comment on individual cases.
