What it's really doing is telling Ireland to actually implement the very limited "if life is at risk" exception it has in the constitution, rather than ignoring it in practice. From the BBC commentary:
Ireland is now under pressure to do what successive Irish governments have avoided doing for almost 20 years - alter its abortion laws.
In theory, it would not be a major change. It would simply reflect the judgement of the Irish Supreme Court in 1992 which ruled that a woman whose life was in danger should be allowed an abortion.
In practice, defining what constitutes a threat to life for the mother will be a legal minefield.
Changing the law would also be a political minefield. Ireland is bitterly divided over abortion, and the Irish government has plenty of other priorities at present with the financial crisis and a general election early next year.
From the Irish Times:
However, the woman was unable to find a doctor willing to make a determination as to whether her life would be at risk if she continued to term.
This morning, the court concluded that neither the “medical consultation nor litigation options” relied on by the Government constituted an effective or accessible procedures.
“Moreover, there was no explanation why the existing constitution right had no been implemented to date,” the court ruled.
“Consequently, the court concluded that Ireland had breached the third applicant’s – "C" – right to respect for her private life given the failure to implement the existing constitutional right to a lawful abortion in Ireland.”
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1216/breaking11.html?via=mr