Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I am pleased, together with my colleague, Senator O’Loughlin, to bring the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2023 before the House today. This Bill is of significant importance to me. A huge amount of time and effort has gone into bringing it to this point, including hours of consultations with patients, doctors, stakeholders and meeting with the Minister’s office back in 2020. My colleague and I owe a huge gratitude to the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA, and Kate Butler, who was one of the drafters who helped us navigate the technical elements of the Bill, in particular.

The aim of the Bill is to ensure that we have publicly funded and accessible IVF treatment available to our citizens. The Bill aims to provide for the establishment of a body called the assisted human reproduction, AHR, treatment advisory committee to advise on criteria for eligibility for financial assistance with such treatment. The functions of the committee will include: the financial criteria eligibility for financial assistance; the age; previous treatment; welfare of the child; and any other criteria as prescribed by the Minister. The advisory committee will be asked to prepare a report, no longer than 12 months after its establishment, providing such advice and recommendations. This will be presented to both Houses no longer than three months after it is received by the Minister for Health.Obviously, this is not achievable with the stroke of a pen. I would like to acknowledge the Minister's Department and the work he is doing to ensure we see the first roll-out of publicly-funded IVF in September, as promised in the budget. My vision, and that of Senator O'Loughlin, regarding the provision of IVF, is that we will see properly funded fertility hubs doing IVF treatments in publicly-owned facilities. Until capacity is reached, however, we have provided for the use of private service providers in our Bill.

Today, our Bill puts the funding of IVF on a statutory footing and sets up a treatment advisory committee to advise on the criteria and eligibility for financial assistance. I know many critics say it is not feasible to include every single medical procedure in legislation as science is moving so quickly. However, the reason we have decided that IVF treatments need stand-alone statutory status is that we rank 40th out of 43 European countries when it comes to the provision of IVF treatment. We are almost the lowest. One in six couples will experience infertility worldwide. This is more than 16% of couples who will experience infertility. We do not have exact data from Ireland but I speculate it is much more than this as we tend to start our families later.

Having a family for those who desire one is primal. You never think that having a child will be a problem until you try and then it becomes all-consuming and affects every aspect of your life, work and relationships. For many, private IVF clinics are just out of reach as the cost per cycle is between €5,000 and €7,000. At the moment in Ireland, IVF is an exclusive right of the rich. This is not fair or equitable. Everyone in my view should be given the chance to have a family. This is not a new right. This is something offered generously by our EU neighbours and we are falling hugely behind. Placing the funding of IVF on a statutory footing is warranted in the circumstances where we have so much catching up to do as compared to our EU neighbours. It is a drastic measure but we are in the circumstance where we are still waiting for the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 to come to the House, and we have not seen one cent paid to couples to date to subsidise their IVF treatment. The placing of funding on a statutory basis is essential.

Our Bill sets about to amend the Health Act 1970. This is the same Act that was amended to allow for the insertion of a charging clause in the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill. We are not seeking to do something that has not been done previously when it comes to really important legislation that deals with healthcare and the family.

Saying all this, I note the budgetary funding that has been put in place this year for the roll-out of IVF, which I hope will commence in September. I further note the work of the Department regarding the selection criteria that is going on in the background, which we have mirrored in our Bill in the establishment of an advisory committee. I acknowledge the Minister's amendment and we are happy to agree to it on the basis that movement is happening in the background. I know there is concern from intending patients regarding the failure of the Minister's Department to publish the selection criteria to date. I hope that he can give us a timeline regarding the publication of that information in time for September. We also await the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill, which sets out the regulatory framework, and hope the Minister will be able to bring that before both Houses of the Oireachtas before the recess. As the Minister well knows, our Bill in no way impedes Government legislation.

There will be people tuning into the debate today who are thinking of holding off starting IVF and who are waiting for the publicly-funded scheme. To them I say this: do not wait. They should talk to their doctor or IVF provider. As someone who has struggled with infertility, I know how difficult it is. In 2020 during the Covid pandemic I shared my story in this House and it was then that I, along with my colleague, Senator O'Loughlin, started to pursue the goal of publicly-funded IVF for those coming after me. I was a Senator in this House in 2016 when I first came to learn of my infertility struggle. I was ducking and diving between meetings and IVF clinics for more than four years in the hope of a successful pregnancy. I did five cycles and had many ups and downs on the way, culminating in the birth of my twin boys in December 2019. The financial and emotional cost that IVF has on an individuals and a couples going through infertility is horrific. The financial cost in other countries is covered by the state, yet in Ireland we provide nothing.

Thankfully, the stigma and isolation in relation to IVF is improving, thus helping with the emotional impact of infertility. However, it is up to the State to put in place a properly funded model so that individuals can concentrate on their well-being when undergoing IVF and not the cost on them. I got hundreds of responses when I opened up initially in this House about my journey. I did many interviews and now when discussing it with colleagues, it is not really a big deal. I like to think I somewhat contributed to normalising IVF. To fully normalise it, however, we need to see it funded properly, and if placing its funding on a legislative basis achieves that, we need to do it.

We know all Private Members' Bills are not perfect but this one is very well drafted. We are happy to accept amendments on Committee Stage, to come to a compromise and to ensure we do not have any duplication of work or bodies. We hope this House can support this legislation.