Duncan Smith
Question:1399. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the projected full-year cost of expanding the free contraception scheme to all women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37085/23]
View answerTuesday, 25 July 2023
Questions (1399)
Written answers
The free contraception scheme for women aged 17 -25 was launched on 14th September, 2022, and expanded to include 26-year-olds on January 1st, 2023. The scheme is currently open to women aged 17-26 ordinarily resident in Ireland, and will be expanded to women aged 27-30 inclusive on September 1st, 2023.
The scheme covers the cost of consultations with GPs and family planning centres and prescriptions for the wide range of contraceptive options available on the HSE Re-Imbursement List, including long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs: injections, intrauterine devices and systems (coils) and implants) and emergency contraception in addition to the contraceptive Pill, patch and ring. LARC fittings, removals, injections and check-ups are also free of charge under the scheme.
Almost 2,400 GPs and almost 1,900 pharmacies have signed up to provide services and products under the scheme to date. Approximately €32m was allocated to support the scheme in 2023, including scheduled expansions. Expansion to girls age 16 was also allocated funding in 2023, however, this is subject to consultation, ongoing legal consideration and, should pending legal advice permit, legislative amendment.
Good financial practice recommends that demand led schemes are introduced on a pilot basis, both to ensure that real world costs are within allocated budgets and that the new scheme works according to intended parameters – it is easier to complete the operational streamlining of new programmes when these are working with subsets of the population.
As per the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group on Access to Contraception (which is available on the Department’s website), it was decided to commence the scheme with younger age cohorts, as they are least likely to be financially independent and many are still engaged in full time education.
The Report of the Working Group on Access to Contraception also highlighted that there may have been potential issues with sufficient capacity in primary care to fit LARCs, should the scheme have been introduced to all cohorts at once. However, the ICGP are being funded since 2022 to increase the number of LARC trained GPs. This training scheme is operational and is working to increase LARC fitting capacity currently.
Costings supporting the scheme have been published and are available through the Report of the Working Group on Access to Contraception, which is available on the Department’s website. The fees reimbursable to service providers under the scheme are also listed in S.I. No.451 of 2022, which is available on www.irishstatutebook.ie . Any decision relating to further expansion of the free contraception scheme for women will be a matter for the Estimates process in advance of Budget 2024.