Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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170. To ask the Minister for Health the timeline he is working towards in bringing forward proposals to enable young people under the age of 17 years to access the free contraception scheme, as committed to during Committee and Remaining Stages of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2022 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10380/23]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The free contraception scheme for women was launched in September 2022, initially for women aged 17-25 who are ordinarily resident in Ireland.

The scheme has now been expanded to include 26-year-olds from January 1st, 2023, and will be expanded further, in September, to include women aged 27-30. Approximately €32m has been assigned to support the scheme in 2023.

Over 2,200 GPs and 1,850 pharmacies have signed up to provide products and services under the scheme to date.

Funding through Budget 2023 was also allocated to expand the scheme to 16 year-olds also, but this is subject to consultation across Government, legal advice and legislative amendment. 

In order to fully inform forthcoming legal advice, a consultation exercise was commenced in 2022, with opinions sought from a number of Government Departments, the HSE's clinical consent experts, the Ombudsman for Children's Office, the RCPI Faculty of Paediatrics and representatives of the voluntary sector.

The majority have reverted, with the closing date for receipt of submissions Friday 3/3/2023. The input provided by the stakeholders will be considered as part of legal considerations of extending the scheme to 16 year olds. Legal advice will be provided by the Department's legal team with a request made to the Office of the Attorney General for final consideration.

Should legal advice confirm there are no legal impediments to extending the scheme to 16 year olds, a legislative amendment to section 67E of the 1970 Health Act will be required and it is my intention to bring a Memorandum to Cabinet to seek a decision in principle, followed by a decision for permission to draft, as soon as possible.