Publicly funded IVF from 2023
IVF will be publicly funded in Ireland for the first time from next year under plans to be revealed in today’s Budget, while adult hospital in-patient fees look set to be abolished.
Meanwhile, it’s understood that women aged up to 30 will also be able to avail of free contraception from next year.
After hours of discussions, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly last night secured multi-millioneuro funding with a phased introduction of IVF to begin in 2023.
Currently Ireland is the only EU country not to offer any State support for those seeking to use assisted human reproduction.
Today’s Budget announcement comes as the Oireachtas continues to work on the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill to provide a framework for the funding.
In Ireland, IVF treatment costs between €4,000 and €5,000.
Plans to fund IVF through the State were first confirmed earlier this year, while the idea was first flagged in 2019 during Simon Harris’s tenure as Health Minister.
Among other new measures to be announced in the health budget is the removal of adult inpatient charges in public hospitals.
The measure will see patients save up to €800 per year.
Last week, public in-patient charges for children aged under 16 were removed after proposals brought forward by the Fianna Fáil minister were signed off by Cabinet. The Irish Daily Mail also understands that a widening out of the current free contraception scheme will also be announced as part of Budget 2023.
Sources said the eligibility for the free contraception programme will be increased to women aged up to 30. Under the current scheme, which came into effect earlier this month, females aged between 17 and 25 can receive a variety of forms of contraception at no cost from GPs, primary care centres and pharmacists that sign up to the scheme. Speaking at a press conference earlier this month, Mr Donnelly said he would ‘love to see everyone eligible’ for free contraception.
He said: ‘That’s where we need to go. More broadly, we need to substantially increase access in terms of affordability to primary care in the country.
‘I’d like to see progress made year on year. I think we have to keep up momentum on this.’
Costs for the Pill and similar repeat prescription contraceptives can be estimated at €65 to €100 every six months.
The initial costs of long-acting reversible contraception, including consultation, purchase of the device and fitting, range from €250-€320.
If removal costs are included, this can rise to €340-€470.
‘We have to keep up the momentum’