The Report of the Working Group on Access to Contraception, published in October 2019, identified the barriers that exist to accessing contraception for a significant amount of people in Ireland including accessibility, education, workforce capacity and cost. With this in mind, the Programme for Government commits to providing free contraception for women, starting with the 17-25 age cohort.
Funding secured by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD in Budget 2022 will see this scheme gradually being introduced starting with younger women aged 17 – 25 who are least likely to be financially independent and where cost has been shown to be a greater barrier to access contraception.
The scheme will provide for:
- The cost of prescription contraception
- The cost of fitting and/or removal of various types of long-acting reversible contraception and administration of contraceptive injections plus any necessary checks, by medical professionals certified to fit/remove same
- The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove long-acting reversible contraception
- The cost of a maximum of two consultations per annum with GPs and other doctors to discuss forms of contraception suitable for individual patients and to enable prescription of same.
It is envisaged that a wide range of contraceptive options, currently available to medical card holders, will be made available through this scheme. This includes contraceptive injections, implants, various types of intrauterine system (IUS) or device (IUD; commonly known as the coil), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill.
Minister Donnelly said:
The work I have asked my Department to undertake focusing on Women’s Health has identified many areas that we need to address swiftly. One of those is the cost barrier for many people accessing contraception.
Contraception is not specifically a women’s health issue, nor do many women use contraception solely as a means of preventing unwanted pregnancy. Contraception is used to treat a myriad of other women’s health issues, and a key element of the scheme I am introducing will cover the cost of up to two consultations per annum with a GP or other doctors, empowering young women to discuss forms of contraception suitable to their personal circumstances and medical conditions.
It is important to note, that some access to free contraception is already enabled, through the National Condom Distribution Service (NCDS). The NCDS functions as a central point for distributing free condoms to HSE services and other organisations working with individuals and groups at increased risk of negative sexual health outcomes including migrants; young people; gay, bisexual and other MSM; sex workers; people living with addiction issues and people living with HIV.
I will shortly bring the Women’s Health Plan for 2022 to Government that will seek to further address a wide range of critical women’s health issues.
In order to give time to bring forward the necessary legislative proposals and ensure the implementation of service delivery arrangements through the appropriate areas of the healthcare system, it is envisaged that the scheme will be introduced from August 2022.
Notes
Following the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, a Working Group was established in April 2019 to consider the range of policy, regulatory and legislative issues arising in relation to improving access to contraception in Ireland.
The Group’s high-level report, published in October 2019, identified the barriers that exist to accessing contraception and the mechanisms available to overcome those barriers, noting that any policy proposal must focus on accessibility, education, workforce capacity as well as cost.
A Contraception Implementation Group has been established within the Department of Health, which held its first meeting in July and is currently actively working to progress implementation of this scheme as a matter of urgency.
It should be noted that those with a medical card already have access to most forms of contraception at minimal cost (subject only to the prescription charge), through the GMS (medical card) scheme, while those with a GP visit card are also supported as the clinical cost element of contraception is reduced.
The Drugs Payment Scheme, for which anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland is eligible, covers the cost of prescription items, including LARCs, above a limit of €114 per month. Budget 2022 announced that the maximum payable by individuals and families under the Drug Payment Scheme will be reduced to €100 per month. Amending legislation is needed to provide for this change, and it is anticipated that the new threshold will come into effect in early 2022.
Some access to free contraception is already enabled, through the National Condom Distribution Service (NCDS), which was established by the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) in October 2015.The NCDS functions as a central point for distributing free condoms and lubricant sachets to HSE services and other organisations working with individuals and groups at increased risk of negative sexual health outcomes.
These include migrants; young people; gay, bisexual and other MSM; sex workers; people living with addiction issues and people living with HIV. From 2017 to the end of 2019, the number of organisations ordering from the NCDS has doubled.
The service was extended to 3rd level institutions in late 2019. Third-level institutions can now order condom dispensers from the HSE, which enable the provision of free condoms and sexual health information to students on campuses nationwide. The SHCPP advises that 3rd level institutions will be contacted, prior to the commencement of on-campus attendance in September, with regard to their engagement with the NCDS.
Information leaflets are provided with the condom dispensers, which outline to students how to use condoms correctly, and emphasise the importance of using condoms consistently and every time sex happens. The information leaflets direct students to HSE – led and HSE-funded websites for further information about sexual health and wellbeing; www.sexualwellbeing.ie and www.man2man.ie.
It should also be noted that, while oral contraception and various forms of long-acting reversible contraception can be more effective at preventing pregnancy, condoms provide protection against STIs that is not provided by non-barrier forms of contraception. It is envisaged that continued expansion of the NCDS will be facilitated in line with demand, in order to support the STI prevention and sexual health promotion needs of people living in Ireland.
The full year costs of providing contraception for 17-24 year old women have been estimated by the Working Group on Contraception at €18-22m; more detail is available through the Report, which is published on the Department’s website at the following link:
https://assets.gov.ie/38063/89059243e750415ebf7e96247a4225ae.pdf .
Scaling up the costs to cover 17-25 year olds would give a cost range of €20-€25m.
Help support Cork Safety Alerts by becoming a member – Click Here