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The HSE’s Fertility Services Report for 2025, has acknowledged “ongoing challenges remain in relation to data completeness and outcome tracking particularly in capturing live birth outcomes,” associated with state funded IVF and Fertility Hub services.
According to the report published this month, in 2025, a total of 5,818 referrals were accepted across the six regional fertility hubs, representing approximately 11,636 individuals accessing public fertility services.
Over the same period, 1,996 patients were referred onward for assisted human reproduction (AHR) treatment.
The report also confirms that 664 clinical pregnancies were recorded in 2025 across regional fertility hubs and private assisted human reproduction providers.
Of these, 435 pregnancies were reported at hub level, with the remainder arising from advanced fertility treatments including IVF and frozen embryo transfer.
However, the report says it cannot provide information on how many of these pregnancies resulted in live births, nor does it include any data on miscarriage, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy or maternal complications following IVF or other assisted human production procedures.
The document also notes that many pregnancies recorded at hub level were self‑reported by patients, as hubs do not routinely carry out pregnancy confirmation scans. This means the figures may not represent the full number of pregnancies achieved or their eventual outcomes.
While the report outlines pregnancy rates for IVF, Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and frozen embryo transfers (30%, 31% and 34% respectively) these figures relate only to early clinical pregnancies.
The report does not indicate how many of these pregnancies resulted in live births, how many ended in pregnancy loss, or whether any involved medical complications for women undergoing treatment.
In other jurisdictions, including the UK, regulators routinely publish miscarriage and live birth data as part of standard outcome for fertility treatment.
The absence of comparable information in the HSE report means that the overall outcomes of State‑funded AHR cycles cannot be assessed from the data provided.
The report also highlights the establishment of the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA) in 2025.
While the Authority is described as having responsibility for oversight of AHR services and the welfare of children born as a result of treatment, the report does not specify whether AHRRA will collect or publish data on pregnancy loss or treatment‑related complications.
The issues will prompt questions about the level of transparency surrounding the State’s fertility services, particularly as public funding and activity levels continue to expand.
Since the Government first committed to developing public fertility services, a minimum of €100 million has been allocated to fertility hubs and AHR services.
Initial funding of €2 million was provided in 2019 to establish the first Regional Fertility Hubs. A further €31 million was allocated in Budget 2022 to expand hub capacity and develop referral pathways. In Budget 2023, the Government allocated over €69 million, including funding to launch publicly funded AHR treatment for the first time and to prepare for the establishment of a fully public AHR centre.
The full HSE Report can be accessed here.
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