Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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1324. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on the implementation of Spinal Muscular Atrophy testing in the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme, further to her predecessor’s commitment in November 2023 to include SMA in the heel prick test and the allocation of funding for this in Budgets 2024 and 2025; to outline the role of her Department in overseeing delivery, including progress to date on staff recruitment and equipment procurement; and to confirm when newborns in Ireland will begin to be screened for this potentially fatal disease. [29199/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Health, I am determined to support our screening programmes, which are a valuable part of our health service, enabling early treatment and care for many people, and improving the overall health of our population. Currently, all newborn babies (between 3 and 5 days old) are offered newborn bloodspot screening (generally known as the ‘heel prick’), which tests for nine rare but serious conditions that are treatable if detected early in life.

The Programme for Government commits to continually reviewing the number of conditions babies are screened for, and I am pleased to note that the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) has been actively progressing work in this regard.

NSAC is the independent expert group that considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria. It is important that we have rigorous processes in place to ensure our screening programmes are effective, quality assured, validated and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.

It is important to clarify that the recommendation from NSAC on the addition of screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) was approved by the previous Minister for Health in late 2023. This recommendation specifically noted the anticipated complexity of the associated implementation process and that this would require significant additional investment in the NBS Programme.

In Budget 2024, an additional €1.4m of new development funding was allocated to support the expansion of the Newborn Bloodspot Screening (NBS) Programme to include testing for SMA and also for the introduction of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), which had also been subject to a recommendation by NSAC, and approved in early 2023.

I can confirm that the HSE has advised that the equipment needed to enable the roll-out testing for SMA and SCID has been procured, and that verification testing is expected to commence shortly. In terms of staffing, more than half of the requested WTE posts have now been filled, with further progress expected in the coming months.

Officials in my Department are actively engaged with the HSE to ensure that progress continues on implementing an ambitious timeline for the introduction of screening for SMA and SCID without delay.

Once both conditions have been fully implemented, this will bring the number of conditions screened for as part of what is commonly known as the ‘heel prick’ test in Ireland to 11. Nevertheless, I am acutely aware of how difficult it is for parents, families and children who have received a diagnosis of a rare disease, and how challenging daily life can be for them. This is why I remain committed to the further expansion of screening in Ireland in accordance with internationally accepted criteria and best practice.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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1326. To ask the Minister for Health her plans to introduce financial support for families going through IVF treatment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29204/25]

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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1366. To ask the Minister for Health if she will provide an update on the timeframe for the launch of the next phase of the HSE funding for IVF; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29358/25]

Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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1379. To ask the Minister for Health if she will provide an update in relation to funding for IVF; if she will reply to correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29452/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1326, 1366 and 1379 together.

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) 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 elements, starting in primary care (i.e., GPs) and extending into secondary care (i.e., six Regional Fertility Hubs located across the country) and, 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 involved the establishment, at secondary care level, of six Regional Fertility Hubs within maternity networks covering the entire country. This means that a significant proportion of individuals presenting with fertility-related issues are managed 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. These Hubs have been fully operational for a number of years now.

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 IUI (intrauterine insemination), which can, for certain cohorts of people, be a potentially effective, yet less complex and less intrusive form of treatment.

Referrals for publicly-funded, privately-provided AHR treatment commenced in September 2023. Criteria prospective patients should meet in order to access fully-funded AHR services were agreed by the Department and the HSE and subsequently approved by Government in July 2023.

The criteria were agreed following consultation with experts in the field of reproductive medicine and include limits in respect of the age of the intending birth mother, body mass index (BMI) and the number of children a couple already have. They are very much in keeping with those applied in other jurisdictions, even though in most European countries, for instance, such treatments are only partially funded and require often significant out-of-pocket payments by patients.

More information is available on the HSE website in respect of the publicly-funded AHR treatment initiative at:

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or on public fertility services more generally at:

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Just under 2,400 couples have been referred to date by a Reproductive Specialist Consultant for AHR treatment following extensive investigations and/or secondary level treatment within the HSE-run Regional Fertility Hubs. Furthermore, the Hubs have successfully and directly managed thousands more 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.

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.

Proposed changes to the access criteria and the publicly-funded AHR treatment initiative more broadly are being considered. At the moment, couples with no existing children in their current relationship are ineligible to avail of AHR treatment. I hope to be in a position in the coming weeks to make an announcement in respect of this specific criterion in order to allow for those with one child already but who are having difficulties in having a second child – what is known informally as “secondary infertility” – to access publicly-funded AHR treatment, as long as, of course, they meet all the other existing criteria.

It should be noted that supports previously available to patients who access IVF, or other AHR treatment, privately, whereby tax relief on the costs involved can be claimed under the tax relief for medical expenses scheme, continue to be provided.

In addition, a defined list of fertility medicines needed for fertility treatment is covered under the High Tech Arrangements administered by the HSE. Medicines covered by the High Tech Arrangements must be prescribed by a consultant/specialist and authorised for supply to the client’s nominated community pharmacy by the High Tech Hub managed by the Primary Care Reimbursement Service. The cost of the medicines is then covered, as appropriate, under the client’s eligibility, i.e., Medical Card or Drugs Payment Scheme. The annual cost to the State of the financial support for these medicines is far from insignificant.

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.