Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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411. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for the roll-out of full access to free contraception as recommended by the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41938/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The question of access to contraception is an important one. That is why, following on from the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment, I established a Working Group within my Department to examine the range of policy, regulatory and legislative issues arising in relation to improving access to contraception.

Since its establishment at the end of April, the Group has overseen a public consultation exercise, undertaken a review of research and met directly with a number of stakeholders. The Group has recently finalised its report and has submitted it for my consideration.

I intend to fully consider the detail of the report. We do, however, know that there can be barriers to accessing contraception, and that for some people cost is an issue. Most forms of contraception, including Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives, are provided free of charge to those with medical cards, while the National Condom Distribution Service also supports free access to contraception among those that may be at increased risk of negative sexual health outcomes.

The Working Group examined other means by which the costs involved in accessing contraception can be reduced, and its recommendations in this regard will be of particular interest.

It is also important to acknowledge that there can be barriers to contraception aside from cost, such as difficulty accessing services in a particular locality or feelings of embarrassment.For example, in the United Kingdom, where contraceptive products and services are available free at the point of service, recent research shows that a high proportion of pregnancies are still deemed unwanted or unintended.

Clearly, this is a complex and multi-faceted issue, and I look forward to examining the report of the Working Group in more detail.