Paul Murphy presses for guarantee on public IVF funding 2023
Paul Murphy urged a firm guarantee that IVF will be funded by the public health system in 2023 and requested a clear timeline and adequate public funding to prevent outsourcing to private for-profit providers. He expressed scepticism based on previous commitments and highlighted recent women's health investments as context.
Demand for guarantee and timeline
Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach for a guarantee that public funding for IVF will be introduced in 2023 and for a specific time frame within that year. He also sought a commitment that sufficient funding will be provided so the service can be delivered within the public system rather than outsourced to private, mostly for-profit, providers.
Access and equity implications
He said if public funding is implemented it would mean Ireland is no longer the only country in the EU without any public funding of IVF. Paul Murphy argued that public provision would prevent fertility treatment being reserved for those with sufficient money or those willing to incur substantial debt.
Scepticism rooted in past commitments
Murphy warned he would not "hold his breath" because similar promises date back to 2016 and are included in Sláinte Kher and the Programme for Government, yet there has been precious little progress. He used that history to press for concrete assurances rather than repeated commitments.
Acknowledgement of recent women's health measures
He acknowledged that the Minister has allocated funding for women's health, including a €31 million allocation for new developments, measures in the National Maternity Strategy, free contraception access for ages 17 to 25, expansion of specialist menopause clinics from one to four, and increased investment in sexual assault treatment units. The Minister has indicated plans to introduce advanced assisted human reproduction treatments, including IVF, in the public health system commencing in 2023.
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Teachta, yesterday the Minister for Health announced that IVF will be funded by the public system in 2023. For very many couples, of course, that is a very welcome announcement. If it happens, it will mean that Ireland is no longer the only country in the EU without any public funding of IVF. It would mean that access to this fertility treatment is no longer reserved for those who either have enough money or those who are willing and able to go into very substantial debt. But I don't want to hold my breath about it, because we have heard this before from the then Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, in 2016. It's in Sláinte Kher, it's in the Programme for Government, and there has been precious little progress. So I'm asking Taoiseach for a guarantee that this is actually going to happen in 2023 and a time frame for when that will be within that year. I'm also asking for a commitment that sufficient funding will be provided for the public system to ensure it can be done publicly as opposed to outsourced to private, mostly for-profit providers. To be fair to Minister Donnelly, in terms of women's health in the last budget, he allocated €31 million for new developments in relation to supporting women's health. And that, in terms of additional funding, in terms of the National Maternity Strategy into 2020 and beyond, free funding access to contraception for women from 17 years to 25, further developments in menopause care by increasing the number of specialist menopause clinics from one to four, increased investment in sexual assault treatment units, and a whole range of other developments. So there is form, in terms of the Minister's commitment, in terms of securing funding, and in terms of the Minister intends to roll out a model of care for infertility, which will see the introduction of advanced assisted human reproduction treatments, including IVF, in the public health system. Minister Donnelly plans to commence this in 2023, and that is his commitment.
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