Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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971. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department is considering measures to expand access to contraception for women from local community pharmacies without the requirement for a doctor’s prescription, and after having a professional consultation with a pharmacist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54428/22]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with the Programme for Government and Women’s Health Action Plan commitments, the free contraception scheme for women aged 17-25 was launched on Wednesday 14th September.

Funding of approximately €9m has been allocated for the scheme in Budget 2022. Further funding of approximately €32 million is provided, through Budget 2023, to support the contraception scheme and to expand it to include 16-30 year olds in 2023. The scheme will be expanded to include 26-year-olds on 1 January 2023, with 16 and 27-30 year olds becoming eligible on 1 September 2023. The expansion of the scheme to 16 year olds is subject to legal advice, detailed consultation and the required legislative amendments.

The scheme is currently open to 17-25 year-old women ordinarily resident in Ireland and provides for:

- The cost of prescription contraception;

- The cost of necessary consultations with medical professionals to discuss suitable contraception for individual patients and to enable prescription of same;

- The cost of fitting and/or removal of various types of long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) plus any necessary checks, by medical professionals certified to fit/remove same;

- The cost of training and certifying additional medical professionals to fit and remove LARCs;

- The cost of providing the wide range of contraceptive options currently available to GMS (medical) card holders, which are also available through this scheme, including contraceptive injections, implants, IUS and IUDs (coils), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill, including emergency contraception.

The legal framework for the scheme is provided by the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act, 2022, which was enacted in July and commenced in September, 2022. Digital information regarding the scheme, how to access it and wider information on contraceptive options is available through www.sexualwellbeing.ie .

Over 2,100 GPs and over 1,850 pharmacists have entered into contracts with the HSE to provide services under the scheme.

The potential to make some forms of prescription contraception available through pharmacies, without prescription by medical practitioners, were considered as part of the work of the Contraception Implementation Group. These issues are wider than the free contraception scheme.

The matters have been referred to clinical experts in the HSE, requesting a formal recommendation. The clinical expert group includes pharmacists, nurses and midwives, obstetricians and general practitioners; the group are currently examining clinical considerations and the national and international guidance in order to underpin formal responses. 

The group have recently advised that it will take a number of weeks to consider all outstanding matters and to issue a comprehensive formal response that will provide clear answers, with referable sources underpinning them.