A LIMERICK Minister has welcomed news that publicly funded IVF treatment is to be made available to couples from September.
Minister of State Niall Collins welcomed the announcement from party colleague and Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, detailing the access criteria and the services that will be available under public funding.
“In Ireland, as many as one in six couples will experience fertility issues affecting both men and women equally and I warmly welcome news that from September, assisted human reproduction treatment will be publicly funded for the first time in the State,” Minister Collins said.
“This has been promised by successive health Ministers, but I am proud to say it is now finally being delivered by Fianna Fáíl Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly.”
To be eligible for publicly funded treatment, couples must be resident in Ireland and referred to a Regional Fertility Hub through their GP.
They must be in a relationship for at least one year and have no children from their current relationship. Patients with known clinical causes of infertility, and patients where there is no known clinical cause, will be eligible for treatment. Women up to the age of 40 and men up to the age of 59 will also be considered eligible.
There are also restrictions to be set upon women’s eligibility depending on their Body Mass Index (BMI).
According to Minister Collins, the new legislation represents a “transformative step toward reproductive equality” and means anyone who wants to become a parent can do so, “regardless of their financial status”.
