Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 5 Nov 1991

Vol. 412 No. 1

Written Answers. - Family Planning Services Funding.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

125 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the funds which his Department provides in support of (1) family planning services and (2) research into family planning methods; if he will further outline, in respect of each, the amount allocated to those exclusively providing services in respect of natural family planning methods.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

126 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the funds which are incurred by each health board in respect of family planning services; and if he will further outline in respect of each case the amount which went to those exclusively providing service in respect of natural family planning methods.

Minister for Health (Dr. O'Hanlon)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 125 and 126 together.

Family planning services are provided by the health boards, by general practitioners in the GMS scheme and by a number of voluntary organisations. Information on the cost of such services is not available except in the case of grants made to certain voluntary organisations. In the year 1991 to date this funding was as follows:—

Board	Organisation	1991 to date
		£
Southern	Tralee Family Planning and Womens Health Clinic Ltd.	9,000
	*National Association of the Ovulation Method in Ireland	4,000
	*Family Life Centre Cork	800
	*Catholic Marriage Advisory Council	10,250
Eastern	*Catholic Marriage Advisory Council	24,750
	Irish Family Planning Association Ltd.	10,000
Mid-Western	Limerick Family Planning Clinic Ltd.	4,500
	Newcastlewest Family Planning and Womens Health Clinic	2,500
North-Western	Letterkenny Womens Centre Co. Ltd.	8,000

*Provide natural family planning services only. The other organisations listed above provide comprehensive family planning services including natural family planning services.

General practitioners participating in the general medical services scheme provide, as part of their services, information and advice in relation to family planning.

In relation to research the Health Research Board provided a total of £237,000 over a period of five years for a female fertility research unit in University College Galway in respect of a project — completion date 31/12/90. The objectives of the project were (a) to develop rapid, cost effective, non-isotopic methods for measuring reproductive steroid hormones in saliva and (b) to evaluate the clinical applications of those assays in natural family planning, the management of female infertility, the return of post-partum fertility, habitual abortion and in postmenopausal women undergoing hormone replacement therapy. The final report of the project is expected to be published next month and I will arrange to let the Deputy have a copy of this report. In the meantime, I am sending him a copy of the annual report of the HRB for 1990 in which the main achievements of the study are summarised.