Colm Burke
Ceist:906. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of introducing free contraception for women aged 26 to 28 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14304/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 22 March 2022
Ceisteanna (906, 907)
Colm Burke
Ceist:907. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of introducing free contraception for women aged 26 to 30 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14305/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 906 and 907 together.
The Programme for Government commits to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort; roll-out is scheduled to commence in August 2022.
The scheme will provide for:
1. The cost of prescription contraception;
2. The cost of a minimum of two consultations per annum with GPs and other doctors to discuss suitable contraception for individual patients and to enable prescription of same;
3. 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;
4. The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove LARCs;
5. Provision of contraceptive options currently available to GMS (medical) card holders through this scheme, to include contraceptive injections, implants, IUS and IUDs (coils), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill, including emergency contraception.
Full year costs for the 17-25 age cohort are currently estimated at €26 million. This figure is based on using methods analogous to those published in the Report of the Working Group on Contraception. The estimated cost of rolling out the scheme to women aged 17-55 is approximately €110 million. Formal costings for specific age ranges outside the 17-25 year cohort have not been completed, as the scheme is being rolled out in line with the Programme for Government, starting with 17-25 year olds.
Expanding the scheme to further age cohorts will be considered following the monitoring and evaluation the scheme for 17–25-year-olds, once operational. Costings for additional age cohorts will be refined once real world data from the operational 17-25 year old scheme is available. This will ensure that the scheme is working smoothly in terms of gauging demand levels and ensuring sufficient numbers of medical practitioners are certified to fit and remove LARCs.
As part of the Budget 2022 allocation, funds are being made available for additional training capacity with respect to certification of medical professionals to fit and remove LARCs. The HSE is currently working on preparing to roll out these additional training supports.
Question No. 907 answered with Question No. 906.