Women's Council pushing for expansion of free contraception scheme

A new scheme will cover prescription contraception, and include any necessary consultations with medical professionals regarding suitable contraception options, and the prescribing of them.

The National Women’s Council is pushing for the expansion of the free contraception scheme being introduced for 17- to 25-year-olds next month.

In its pre-budget submission, the council says that women of all ages should be able to access contraception, irrespective of their financial situation. It is seeking the roll-out of the scheme to women between 26 and 35 years old.

Lone parents

The submission is also calling for an investment of €3bn in a major State-led housing programme for provision of public, affordable and cost rental homes and accommodation to aid lone parents and low-income families.

The document lists the area of domestic violence as one which has to be tackled through Budget 2023, and seeks the delivery of “the much-needed accommodation plan and refuge spaces”.

Last month, the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act 2022, providing for the free contraception scheme for women between 17 and 25 years, was signed into law by President Michael D Higgins.

The scheme will cover prescription contraception, and include any necessary consultations with medical professionals regarding suitable contraception options, and the prescribing of them.

It will also cover the fitting or removal of long-acting reversible contraception by certified professionals. Access will also be provided to options which are currently covered for medical card holders, including contraceptive injections, implants, IUS and IUDs (coils), the contraceptive patch and ring, and various forms of oral contraceptive pill, including emergency contraception.

The NWCI’s submission is calling for a €45m investment in the roll-out of the scheme to women between 26 and 35 years old.

While NWCI’s head of policy, Jennifer McCarthy-Flynn, welcomed the free contraception scheme for the 17 to 25 age group, she said: “The need for contraception doesn’t end at 25. 

Women of all ages must be able to access the contraception most suited to them, no matter their financial circumstances.

The submission also calls for public funding for IVF treatment, which it says is essential in provide equality of access to such treatment for all women.

The submission says that a public model of fertility care in Ireland must be expedited.

Meanwhile, the submission notes that 86% of one-parent families in Ireland are headed by women, and says that one-parent families are the highest proportion of families living in emergency accommodation.

In relation to the area of domestic violence, Ms McCarthy-Flynn said: “The European Institute of Gender equality (EIGE) has estimated that the cost of gender-based violence for Ireland is €4 billion per year. This includes a variety of costs associated with lost employment and the costs of public and specialist services.”