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Health Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023

Tuesday, 18 April 2023

Ceisteanna (1439, 1476, 1524, 1601)

Bríd Smith

Ceist:

1439. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health if there will be any State-funded fertility treatment programme available in the State in the coming period; if his Department has plans in relation to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16721/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Holly Cairns

Ceist:

1476. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the scheme to publicly fund IVF treatments; when people will be able to apply; the criteria that will be used to determine eligibility; if it will involve means testing; when funding will be made available to support access to advanced AHR treatment via private providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16837/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Murphy

Ceist:

1524. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm in relation to the details of the public funding for IVF treatment if there will be waitlists, who might qualify; if one is eligible if one has previously received treatment; if it will be means tested; and if it will cover IUI, IVF, ISCI and egg/sperm donations. [17054/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Neasa Hourigan

Ceist:

1601. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the Programme for Government commitment to introduce a publicly funded model of care for fertility treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17438/23]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1439, 1476, 1524 and 1601 together.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Model of Care for Fertility was developed by the Department of Health in conjunction with the HSE’s National Women and Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) in order to ensure that fertility-related issues are addressed through the public health system at the lowest level of clinical intervention necessary.

This Model of Care comprises three stages, starting in primary care (i.e., GPs) and extending into secondary care (i.e., Regional Fertility Hubs) and then, where necessary, tertiary care (i.e., IVF (in-vitro fertilisation), ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) and other advanced assisted human reproduction (AHR) treatments), with patients being referred onwards through structured pathways. Phase One of the roll-out of the Model of Care has involved the establishment, at secondary care level, of Regional Fertility Hubs within maternity networks, in order to facilitate the management of a significant proportion of patients presenting with fertility-related issues at this level of intervention. The completion of Phase One of the roll-out of the Model of Care, envisaged later this year, will result in fully operational Regional Fertility Hubs at six locations across the country.

Phase Two of the roll-out of the Model of Care will see the introduction of tertiary fertility services, including IVF, provided through the public health system. In this regard, funding was secured in Budget 2023 to support access to advanced AHR treatments, including, crucially, to allow the commencement of Phase Two of the roll-out of the Model of Care.

This investment will facilitate the first steps to be taken towards the provision of a complete publicly-provided fertility service, which is the ultimate objective of Government. In particular, it will allow the historic development of the first National Advanced AHR Centre, delivering IVF and ICSI through a wholly public clinic and this is scheduled to open in 2024. Subject to the provision of additional funding in future, it is envisaged that additional National Advanced AHR Centres will be developed and become operational on a phased basis elsewhere in the country.

The 2023 allocation is also being utilised to support the Regional Fertility Hubs in order to expand their scope of services by introducing the provision of IUI (intrauterine insemination), which can, for certain cohorts of patients, be a potentially effective, yet less complex and less intrusive, type of AHR treatment.

Separately, as an interim measure, I have instructed that some funding be made available to support access to advanced AHR treatment via private providers from September 2023.

My officials, in conjunction with NWIHP, are continuing to actively prepare for the operationalisation of both the publicly- and privately- provided service, including finalising a national eligibility framework and determining how the interim funding for private treatments will be provided to individual eligible patients. However, as the design and scope of this final phase of the Model of Care for Fertility have not yet been finalised, the Department is not in a position at this juncture to provide details in respect of, for instance, any specific criteria to be utilised for accessing advanced AHR treatment.

My Department and the Government is fully committed, through the full implementation of the Model of Care for Fertility, to ensuring that patients always receive care at the appropriate level of clinical intervention and then those requiring, and eligible for, advanced AHR treatment such as IVF will be able to access same through the public health system. The underlying aim of the policy to provide a model of funding for AHR, within the broader new AHR regulatory framework, is to improve accessibility to AHR treatments, while at the same time embedding safe and appropriate clinical practice and ensuring the cost-effective use of public resources.

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