Contraception is currently free for women aged 17 to 35, under measures brought in by the Fianna Fáil minister. However, there is resistance within the Department of Health for the initiative to be extended to girls aged 16 due to "medical ethics" - given that the age of consent in Ireland is 17. The minister is understood to be pushing back against the "legally complex" issue.
Mr Donnelly has also pointed to the age of medical independence being 16 - meaning that, from that age, children can go by themselves to a GP and do not need parental or guardian consent. The minister also wants to expand publicly funded IVF to more families. Last year, the Government allocated €10m to a free IVF scheme, but it was criticised for having strict eligibility criteria.
Some of the issues that may be taken into consideration include the age of the applicant, how many cycles of IVF have already been carried out, the applicant's body mass index (BMI) and the number of children families already have. There is some reluctance to expand the number of cycles per family, because the number of people coming forward seeking publicly funded IVF is increasing.
Mr Donnelly is also pushing for "significant" extra staffing for new beds in surgical hubs. The existing level of service agreement for the HSE has also already been decided within the Government, it is understood. Meanwhile, Taoiseach Simon Harris has ruled out a two-tier child benefit scheme being introduced in Budget 2025.
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