Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The second global conference on family planning was held in London last year, involving not just politicians and advocates but also philanthropic organisations. Some €2.6 billion was committed to the area of family planning, while the G8 and developing countries set goals and targets. Today in Addis Ababa, the third global conference on family planning commenced with the focus on reducing teen pregnancy and facilitating access to contraception. Nobody would argue with the idea of reducing teen pregnancies and ensuring that young women have access to contraception. With this in mind, I have tabled this Topical Issue matter.

Women can only get a three-month or six-month prescription for the contraceptive pill. This means that women will be required to bear the cost of their gender and will have to pay a prescription charge just to look after and take control of their own bodies. Last week, the Irish Medical Organisation reported that the contraceptive pill Ovranette costs 71 cent. Therefore, the prescription charge of €2.50 will be substantially more than the price of the drug. The charge far exceeds the price the State pays for that contraceptive pill. In previous parliamentary questions I have submitted to the Minister for Finance, I pointed out that oral contraceptives are subject to a 0% VAT rate. However, all non-oral contraceptives are still subject to a 13.5% VAT rate. This puts more effective methods of contraception beyond the reach of some women. I understand that the imposition of a 13.5% VAT rate on non-oral contraceptives is due to EU regulations. In the coming months I hope to work on this matter with my EU colleagues because it must be changed.

I ask the Minister to apply exclusion criteria, similar to those in the UK, whereby prescriptions for contraceptive pills would be exempt from the charge.

I have tabled a series of parliamentary questions, in respect of which I await a reply, on the proposed publication of the Government's sexual health strategy. I hope this strategy will advocate and propose the inclusion of the universal provision of free contraception.

In an age where cash is king and where Governments, and rightly so, want to ensure effective use of public moneys, I ask that the Government commission the undertaking of a study of the most cost-effective way of providing universal free contraception and universal sexually transmitted infection, STI, screening based, perhaps, on the cervical check model, which provides free sexual health care and STI screening to all female residents in Ireland. I believe the contraceptive pill should be exempted from the €2.50 prescription charge because, as I have outlined, the actual cost of the pill to the State is far less than that. I believe that this is an unfair charge levied on women because of their gender. I await the Minister of State's response.

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