A Dublin-based charity has been awarded the contract to offer telephone counselling for crisis pregnancies and post-abortion services.

One Family has been appointed as the provider of the HSE's National Telephone Counselling Service.

It is due to start in 2019, and will offer a national counselling service to women experiencing an unplanned or crisis pregnancy.

The appointment comes following a European-wide e-tender process.

One Family CEO, Karen Kiernan, said: "One Family is delighted to build on our decades of experience in providing non-directive crisis pregnancy counselling to women, their partners or family members to ensure that women will have all the information and support they need when new legislation is enacted around the provision of abortion services in Ireland."

The service will provide four counsellors for 20 hours of counselling by telephone per week.

Although plans are still in development, it is anticipated this will primarily be delivered outside of regular office hours.

The Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme of the HSE undertook the commissioning of this service.

Ms Kiernan added: "We look forward to working in partnership with the HSE's Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme so we can ensure that high quality services are available to people around Ireland who require them in a time of crisis".

One Family, formerly Cherish, was set up back in 1972.

Mary Robinson resigned as its president in 1990, when she was elected President of Ireland.

The HSE's Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme has confirmed they awarded a tender to One Family to operate the telephone counselling service.