A Mayo Sinn Féin Senator has called for an independent investigation on the historical prescribing of valproate to pregnant women.

Rose Conway-Walsh says it is now clear that hundreds of children have been born with disabilities as a direct result of the of the prescribing sodium valproate (epilim) which is a drug licensed in Ireland for the treatment of epilepsy and bi-polar disorder.

Senator Conway-Walsh says the crux of the matter is that parents were not informed of the risks or risk-reduction measures they needed to put in place, therefore they continued to be prescribed valporate during pregnancy.