The Government's refusal to publish a draft report on crisis pregnancies and abortion was defended by the Minister of State for Public Enterprise, Mr Joe Jacob.

He was responding to Ms Liz McManus (DL, Wicklow), who said that the research had been commissioned by the previous government as part of a strategy to address the rising level of Irish abortions. A total of £100,000 had been allocated to fund the research by Trinity College.

"The Irish taxpayer paid for this research and Irish citizens have a right of ownership of it. It is the first piece of serious investigation into why Irish women are, in ever-increasing numbers, having abortions."

Mr Jacob, replying on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Cowen, said that last December, shortly prior to the receipt of the draft report, the Government had decided to establish a Cabinet committee to oversee the work of an interdepartmental working group whose task it would be to prepare a Green Paper on abortion.

Submissions from interested parties and from the public had been invited and the objective was to have the Green Paper completed in the summer.

The draft report contained a number of recommendations made in the light of the Trinity research team's findings.

"The Minister for Health and Children was, and remains, of the view that it would not be appropriate to publish an important report containing recommendations, while a consultation process leading to the preparation of the Green Paper is under way.

"To do so would, no doubt, lead to the Government being accused of attempting to influence the debate or of endorsing certain positions on the abortion issue in advance of the preparation of the Green Paper."

The Trinity College research team was of the view that the publication of recommendations could deflect the debate away from the research findings, which were of themselves of paramount importance, said Mr Jacob.