Niamh Smyth
Ceist:216. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost to expand the roll-out of contraception to all ages and to include longer-acting forms of contraception. [25119/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 18 May 2022
Ceisteanna (216)
Freagraí scríofa
The Report of the Working Group on Access to Contraception, published in October 2019, identified the barriers that exist to accessing contraception, which include accessibility, information, workforce capacity and, for a significant number of women who may be just above the eligibility threshold for a full GMS (medical) card, cost.
In consideration of the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the 8th Amendment to the Constitution (JOC8) and the findings of the Working Group on Contraception, the Programme for Government, 2020 commits to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort .
In terms of planning for the implementation of this commitment, the Contraception Implementation Group was convened in July, 2021. The focus of the detailed work done to date by the Group has been working towards commencing the scheme in August 2022. Funding of approximately €9m has been allocated for roll-out of the scheme in Budget 2022.
Full year costings may be considered in the context of Estimates 2023, but no costings have been finalised to date and no funding allocations agreed at this stage.
The scheme will provide for:
1. The cost of prescription contraception;
2. The cost of necessary consultations 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; the HSE is currently working on preparing to roll out these additional training supports in conjunction with the Irish College of General Practitioners.
5. Provision of the wide range of contraceptive options currently available to GMS (medical) card holders will also be available 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.