Age of consent 'needs to be examined' as free contraception scheme extended 

 Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly: 'My view is that the medical age of consent is 16, and if we are providing termination services free of charge to 16-year-olds, we must provide contraception free of charge to 16-year-olds.'

The age of consent in Ireland needs to be looked at as Budget 2023 saw the expansion of free contraception to women aged between 16 and 30 — yet the consent age is 17, warned Dr Padraig MacNeela, active consent programme co-lead at the University of Galway.

Dr MacNeela said there is a "contradiction there inherently" because the age of consent for medical procedures is 16 in the first place.