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AFTER THE INITIAL government announcement two years ago that plans were afoot to provide public money for IVF treatment, Health Minister Simon Harris set out the details of his plans today.
Cabinet today approved €2 million in funding for IVF and fertility treatment and committed to funding a model of care for infertility as part of the public health system.
Ireland and Lithuania remain the only two EU countries not to offer state funding for assisted reproduction even though the World Health Organisation recognises infertility as a medical condition.
What was announced today?
The Cabinet made a number of decisions today in terms of supporting people with fertility issues.
It agreed that IVF will be publicly funded going into the future, and set out three models of care that will be funded through the initial €2 million fund.
Under the new plan, couples will first go to their GP about their fertility issues, where an initial assessment and consultation will take place.
Patients can also be referred on to one of six new fertility hubs which will be developed. There will be one fertility hub in each of Ireland’s maternity networks, with the first one being established in 2020 in Dublin and Cork.
Finally, the minister said two tertiary facilities will be identified where access to IVF through the public system will be made available.
Harris said that 50%-70% of people who present with fertility issues have their problems resolved in a hospital setting, without the need for IVF.
What about IVF, what did the government decide to do?
The Cabinet agreed to make IVF part of the public health service. The minister said the government will not be giving out a voucher or payment for patients to go to one of the private clinics that currently offers IVF.
Instead, the treatment will be made available in public hospitals.
When can people start signing up for IVF through the public health system?
Here’s where the problem kicks in.
IVF is not actually regulated in Ireland. It is available privately, but not in any of the public hospitals at the moment.
This means that anyone that has wanted to get IVF in Ireland has had to go private and oftentimes had to pay at least between €4,000 and €4,500 for one course of IVF treatment.
Harris said in order to offer IVF to patients, the government first needs to regulate it and set out who will be eligible and the criteria that will need to be met before someone can get the treatment through the public health system.
All this needs to be done through the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill, which was approved by Cabinet two years ago.
Pre-legislative scrutiny of the scheme, which covers areas including sperm, egg and embryo donation, surrogacy, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis of embryos, posthumous assisted reproduction as well as embryo and stem cell research, has taken place this year.
However, a timeline for the passage of the Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas is not certain.
The minister said today that he expects to publish the Bill at the start of 2020, and hopes to get the legislation passed by the end of the year.
He said the setting up of hubs will help people with fertility issues in the interim.
When will a couple realistically be able to get IVF through the new public system?
2021, if all goes to plan.
Harris told TheJournal.ie today that he is “very conscious” that there are people waiting and wanting to know how all this will affect their life, and might be contemplating IVF and wondering what to do.
“If we’re being completely honest and frank here and I think we should, I think by any objective measure particularly with the stage we are with in the electoral cycle, I think it’s likely to take most of 2020 to pass and commence the legislation.
“So realistically I think you’re looking at 2021, in terms of IVF being available through the public health service and being publicly funded.
“But I would say to people today is there are obviously measures in the interim, seeing your GP, taking the advice from your GP being referred to regional fertility hubs, getting that advice, that access to diagnostics, and then either knowing from that perhaps, ‘may I need IVF now or in the future’, or indeed are there other options, so I’m hoping that these interim steps will provide some clarity and some assistance to people who are waiting while we pass the legislation,” he said.
Harris said the first of the regional fertility hubs should be up and running early in 2020.
What is the €2 million being spent on?
The funding will go towards hiring gynaecologists and diagnostic equipment for the regional fertility hubs, so that the infertility challenges can be determined, and how to resolve them.
One in seven have their fertility issues fully resolved without the need for IVF, and this can be done with the supports and diagnostics provided for through the new hubs.
The HSE will meet in the coming days to map out the resources needed for the new hubs.
“I think for far too long issues that have particularly pertained to pregnancy and the likes, we haven’t faced up to in this country, we haven’t provided for as part of the public health service and we’ve travelled a long road in that regard.
“I think dealing with fertility issues is really important. I think it should be a core component of our women and infants health program and indeed in our maternity services in general. So I think making that decision was important and also getting on with it now, establishing and expanding regional fertility hubs will provide a system for lots of people,” he said.
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Say nothing or the Government will impose an early switch on tax.
Sh!t, I knew I forgot to turn something off a few months back.
Has the comments of the week article been disposed of lads? It had become a bit of a Saturday morning tradition tbh
I’ve noticed that too. There’s been no ‘Top Comments…’ article for the last couple of weeks.
mcgoo. 3 weeks now. Yes it’s missed. Bit of light hearted banter it was..
@mcgoo:
Brinster must have most comments. Trouble is, he said nothing.
Nevermind comment of the Week. — Where is Quinton gone with them Techie articles?
And that fella who called himself a businessman and came out with utter claptrap. He was entertaining
Why worry about what the great unwashed vote for, let them eat cake!
It might be because some of the top comments have been criticising the journal over there closing comments on other articles.
No, still have the windows open.
It’s all in the mind, if you think you’re cold you’ll feel cold, but this isn’t cold weather, it’s mild temperatures.
Just put a fleece on at night, you’ll be grand.
I would hazard a guess that the majority of women in Ireland have turned the heat on, while they have killings with their man who is trying to turn it off without getting caught. This exciting little game will now go on continuously until around next May or June.
And I thought it was only me
Not since they put a freeze on Irish water bills. I used to use them to light the fire.
Not until Christmas Eve.
@David Murphey:
Old school.
Respect.
I wear an extra Geansaí around the house.
@brian magee:
What’s a geansai?
Cod piece.
Along the western coast of Ireland, 2016 has been a bleak dismal summer without sun or heat
Not so great in the “sunny” south east either.
Just how we like it.
For some people, it is a choice of heat or food and medicine.
Or beer even.
Everyone is different. While my sister has her heating on I find an hour or two in the evening just to warm up the house is grand.
Am male. Don’t need heating.
How about just Yes/No?
There’s no on switch with solid fuel. Have I started burning the stock of wood I logged this year or the turf saved? Just in the last few days on the small stove. At least I know for certain that the fuel only has my blood on it.
‘A’ rated gaff so no need to yet, thankfully.
‘C’ rated gaff, burnt the lot in Sept and was warm for an hour!!!!
@M Bowe: x rated gaff, always on fire.
Don’t you just love the #Irish sense of humour!
Yes indeed. Lets keep it that way. Don’t overly dilute the gene pool!
Waiting to see how much the government give us back in the budget before i make an extravagant decision about warming my house up
No but we’ve turned the emmersion off!
Turning off the emersion won’t really make any savings. If you hot water isn’t being used and the cylinder properly insulated the emersion won’t need to heat water therefore not use any substantially measurable amount of electricity. I only had two wash hand basins and a sink off the hot water so instead of heating a cylinder of water I opted for a combination boiler which heats the hot water as I need it
Its spelt immersion. Ive had heating on for an hour or two here and there, but lit the first fire of the year last night. Love having a big open fire in the sitting room. #smellofturf
Spelled is spelled spelled. Not spelt.
Good to see so many options but what about, ‘Yes, just for some of the colder nights/ mornings’….all depends on your heating options because as already mentioned solid fuel stoves can be turned down to a continuous warm output.
Should be another option. Did the wife turn on the heating yet …
Invest in a smart thermostat. One that learns your habits, and that you can temporarily override at the touch of a button or twist of a knob, or even from you smartphone. Forgot to change a setting when you left the gaff? No problem!
There are a number of good brands to choose from these days too, and some can do your hot water too.
A++ rated so no
@Leitrim303: Bought a timber-framed house and it has struggled to drop below 18 degrees even downstairs.
@Danny Nash: ya we have no oil boiler. the house stays around 20c even in winter. Defiantly the way to go.
Nah! It’s still 30C here . . .
Nope. Not cold enough yet
Me mammy leaves her bedroom window open every night of the year. And she doesnt allow the heating to be on. Its always like an igloo in our house. To me anyway
still beautiful over here in Toronto!
Legend summer and autumn.
Hell no, I’m sweating in this weather
Need to find the switch first.
have your say