The Health Service Executive (HSE) has said it accepts the High Court's decision to grant a 17-year-old girl the right to travel to Britain for an abortion was welcomed by several pro-choice groups.
In a statement released this evening the HSE said they had acted in accordance in what they believed to be the correct course of action and that they had always considered a court order was necessary.
The statement also said that the HSE "regrets any distress arising for Miss D and her family".
"The HSE will continue to offer Miss D all the care and support which it is in a position to make available," the statement added.
Today's decision was welcomed by several pro-choice groups.
The Alliance for Choice described the decision to permit the girl, known as Miss D, to travel to terminate her pregnancy as the correct one in the circumstances.
But the group said it deplored the additional anxiety and stress that she has been forced to endure in the last two weeks because of the complex legal battle surrounding the case.
A spokeswoman for the Alliance Dr Mary Muldowney said: "The majority of Irish people believe that abortion is acceptable in some circumstances but successive governments have failed to legislate so that Irish women can have abortions safely and legally in a hospital here."
The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) also welcomed the ruling but said the legal proceedings which had delayed her access to a termination had caused undue stress to a girl already dealing with the traumatic diagnosis of a lethal foetal anomaly.
It said that the failure of successive governments to legislate for abortion was the singular reason behind the necessity of Miss D to take her case to the High Court.
The IFPA warned that while today's High Court decision offered relief on the abortion issue for the body politic, it was unacceptable that a situation persisted whereby there is no proper legal framework on abortion in Ireland.
Meanwhile the anti-abortion group Pro-Life Campaign said that the case highlighted the need to put in place support "so that no woman feels abortion is the only option open to her".
Dr Berry Kiely of the Pro-Life Campaign said the HSE has "a duty to ensure that the minor in its care is made aware of the long-term negative effects of abortion on some women, including abortions carried out due to a foetal abnormality".
Dr Kelly added that the public controversy surrounding the case was a healthy sign that people in Ireland "recognise the importance of discussing the issue openly".