Gardaí are searching for a heavily pregnant woman whose baby is deemed to be 'at risk' due to a medical condition.

The 30-year-old mother, who is over 39 weeks pregnant, failed to attend the hospital to have her delivery induced.

The Irish Independent reports that the HSE have warned that the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has a long history of involvement with child protection services in relation to her ability to care for her children.

The HSE sought orders yesterday granting gardaí permission to immediately search for, arrest without warrant and detain the woman and transfer her to a hospital.

Granting the permissions, Mr Justice Michael Moriarty described the case as a "genuine human emergency".