James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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627. To ask the Minister for Health to examine the case of a person (details supplied) regarding IVF programme changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4286/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the Model of Care for Fertility was developed by the Department of Health in conjunction with the HSE’s National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) in order to ensure that fertility-related issues are addressed through the public health system at the lowest level of clinical intervention necessary.

This Model of Care comprises three stages, starting in primary care (i.e., GPs) and extending into secondary care (i.e., the six Regional Fertility Hubs located across the country) and then, where necessary, AHR (assisted human reproduction) treatment (e.g., IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) and ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection)), with patients being referred onwards through structured pathways.

Phase One of the roll-out of the Model of Care has involved the establishment, at secondary care level, of six Regional Fertility Hubs within maternity networks covering the entire country, in order to facilitate the management of a significant proportion of patients presenting with fertility-related issues at this level of intervention. Patients are referred by their GPs to their local Regional Fertility Hub, which provides a range of treatments and interventions.

Phase Two of the roll-out of the Model of Care relates to the introduction of AHR treatment, including IVF, provided through the public health system at tertiary level.

Appropriate funding has been made available to support access to AHR treatment via HSE-approved private providers. As well as IVF and ICSI, this allocation is also being used to provide, initially through private clinics, IUI (intrauterine insemination), which can, for certain cohorts of patients, be a potentially effective, yet less complex and less intrusive form of treatment.

Referrals for AHR treatment by private providers commenced in September 2023. Criteria prospective patients should meet in order to access fully-funded AHR services and the services to be initially funded were agreed by the Department and the HSE and subsequently approved by Government in July 2023. More details on public fertility services, including information on the publicly-funded AHR treatment initiative, are available from the HSE at: www2.hse.ie/conditions/fertility-problems-treatments/fertility-treatment/

This scheme has proven to be very successful overall. As of the end of January, just over 1,800 couples have been referred by a Reproductive Specialist Consultant for AHR treatment following extensive investigations and/or secondary level treatment within the Regional Fertility Hubs.

Furthermore, the Hubs have successfully and directly managed numerous other patients presenting with fertility-related issues who have been referred by their GP. Not all couples experiencing fertility challenges actually require such advanced and invasive interventions as IVF.

The access criteria for public patients to avail of services provided at a Regional Fertility Hub are less stringent than those required to be met in order to avail of free AHR treatment. For example, there is no limit as to the number of children a couple may already have. Further details are available at the link above.

Therefore, it is advised that if a couple is experiencing fertility challenges, and they meet the access criteria for care and management at Regional Fertility Hub level, then they should seek a referral from their GP. Each Regional Fertility Hub is positioned to provide a suite of investigations and tests free of charge and can commence working with the couple to identify next appropriate clinical steps, many of which may be available within the Hub itself or by means of a referral to another public service, for example, endocrinology or urology.

The access criteria and the AHR treatment scheme generally are being kept under ongoing review as new evidence becomes available and an understanding of how the service provision is working in practice emerges. The details in respect of any agreed changes to the access criteria or the scheme more broadly require further extensive consultation between my officials, colleagues in the HSE and also with relevant specialists in the field of reproductive medicine.

I want to reassure the Deputy that my Department and the Government are focused, through the full implementation of the Model of Care for Fertility, on ensuring that patients receive care at the appropriate level of clinical intervention and then those requiring, and eligible for, advanced AHR treatment such as IVF will be able to access same through the public health system.