Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I note the achievements in women’s health under this Government that have been significant and transformative. We have come from a low base. We had a lot to do and have achieved a lot in recent years. I mentioned the menopause campaign. Of course, the women’s health lead in the ICGP was significant. I worked with the Minister for Health to put that in place, and the menopause measures as well.

The problem with the DPS is, because pharmacies will not dispense the full six months, people are coming back month on month. They never pass the €80 threshold so do not really benefit from that. I acknowledge that it is there. If they could get the full six-month prescription in one go, they would benefit because they would max out at €80. Maybe it would be worth looking at allowing people draw down the full six-month prescription they get from their GP. I acknowledge the position regarding medical card holders, but that is not everybody. I am talking about universal access.

We have done much in this country for different stages. We have made contraception free for a certain number of women. That is fantastic for younger women. Now we have started to fund fertility treatment for women at a certain stage in their lives. For women at a later stage in their lives, we owe it to them to try to do something financially on a product that is essential, that you cannot do without and could be taking for a decade or more.

I ask the Minister of State to take this back to the Minister to reflect on the need - while we have addressed younger women and those in mid-life - to look at women of more mature years and to do something on that front. If work could be done on getting access to prescriptions whereby people could draw down the full six months, the DPS would then be of benefit. At the moment, it is not really applicable. I appreciate the indication towards that.