Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 October 2022
660. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the engagement that he or his Department have had with general practitioners and organisations representing general practitioners; and the additional resources that will be provided to general practitioners in order for them to meet the needs of those that are now eligible for the extended free contraception scheme. [48358/22]
View answerIn accordance with the Programme for Government and Women’s Health Action Plan commitments to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort, the free contraception scheme for women aged 17-25 was launched on Wednesday 14th September.
Funding of approximately €9m has been allocated for the scheme in Budget 2022.The scheme is now open to all 17-25 year-old women ordinarily resident in Ireland and provides for:
- The cost of prescription contraception;
- The cost of necessary consultations with medical professionals to discuss suitable contraception for individual patients and to enable prescription of same;
- The cost of fitting and/or removal of various types of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) plus any necessary checks, by medical professionals certified to fit/remove same;
- The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove LARCs;
- The cost of providing the wide range of contraceptive options currently available to GMS (medical) card holders, which are also available through this scheme, including contraceptive injections, implants, IUS and IUDs (coils), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill, including emergency contraception.
The legal framework for the scheme is provided by the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act, 2022, which was enacted in July and commenced in September, 2022.
Citizen engagement information and publicity campaigns to support and promote the roll out of the scheme were launched by the Department’s Press and Communications Team, the HSE’s Communications team and relevant subject matter experts in the Department and HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme.
Digital information regarding the scheme, how to access it and wider information on contraceptive options is available through www.sexualwellbeing.ie; printed contraceptive choices materials will be placed in GP surgeries from later in September.
As part of the preparations for service provision under the scheme, consultations with the Irish Medical Organisation and the Irish Pharmacy Union were held. My Department also engaged with the Irish College of General Practitioners and HSE regarding the scheme, with specific discussions taking place regarding its provisions for additional training for LARC fitting and removal .
The HSE Primary Care Re-imbursement Service (PCRS) provides ongoing support and engagement to service providers under the scheme, including general practitioners.
