The Clinical Director of the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, has strongly critcised the 'leaking' of details of a termination at the hospital which was reported to be the first to be carried out under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act.

Dr Peter Boylan expressed outrage at the leak, which he said could have identified the women concerned.

Holles Street is to carry out an investigation into how the information was given to the media. It was initially reported in today's Irish Times.

Dr Boylan described the leak as 'absolutely unacceptable' unfair and unethical, and was a severe breach of patient confidentiality.

"Patients will get the care they deserve, and we will not let any woman die in Holles Street, we will give her the appropriate care. But we will not have her details splashed around the newspapers."

Dr Boylan said there could be severe consequences for the person who gave the information: "To give the exact clinical details of a patient to a member of the press is absolutely unethical behaviour by any medical personnel, and if it's a doctor, then this sort of transgression could well end up before the Medical Council."

He said global figures on the number of terminations carried out under the new law, where the mother's life was deemed to be at risk, would be published each year by the Department of Health.