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QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN asked in the Dáil as to why the government has opted to only roll out free contraception to women aged between 17 and 25.
In today’s Budget, it was announced that the contraceptive pill will be free of charge for women in that age cohort, but individuals will have to continue to pay the €1.50 prescription charge.
The cost of fitting and removing long-term contraception such as implants will also be free. Two GP consultations per year regarding contraception will also be free of charge for women in that age group.
However, questions have been asked about why the measure only applies to young women, with People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy telling the Dáil that “people over the age of 25 have sex” and that some also don’t want to have children.
Murphy also said it was wrong of the government to give the message that contraception is the sole responsibility of women, stating that condoms should be free also.
Speaking to The Journal after the Budget speeches this evening, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the move to make contraception free for women aged between 17 and 25 is a starting point.
He said the measure could “perhaps” be expanded in the future to those aged over 25.
“We can’t do everything in one budget,” he said.
Also defending the measure, Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath said the roll out is part of an overall women’s health strategy by government that they hope will “make a real difference”.
He said he was “not for a moment suggesting that it will end” with the 17-25 age cohort.
“It has to start somewhere, and that is where it is starting and I think it is a pretty good start.”
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said the roll out of free contraception is “something we have to do in stages”.
In 2017, the Oireachtas Eighth Amendment Committee recommended that there should be no age limit and no gender barrier, recommending a free contraception scheme for “all people that wish to avail of them within the State”.
The government set up a working group in 2019 to consider the policies and legislation around improving access to contraception.
It was found that local access, cost, embarrassment, inconvenience and lack of knowledge were among the barriers to accessing contraception.
A recommendation was made that young woman and vulnerable groups should be prioritised for free contraception.
Martin told The Journal that rolling out contraception to younger women first is just the government acting on the advice from the working group’s report, though he acknowledged that the government may “expand on that”.
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Only seemed like yesterday the values were through the floor. I emigrated during the big crash and bought property/set up shop in another country. Now I’m a happy homeowner & landlord. A fair landlord. This housing stuff in Ireland really saddens me. There will prob be a twin tier society over it. People with financial power will overpay. People without financial power will struggle so badly to live. And live in horrible conditions. Very sad. Emigrating was the hardest decision I ever made. But I’m glad I did. Previous comment is correct. Boom bust is common in some places. Usually places rich in natural resources like oil etc. But it’s not something that that suits the Irish economy. Start building high rises could be the solution here
@Ronan McDermott: well said, not convinced about high rises but you are asking the questions no one wants to answer. Fair play.
@Greedylocks: I hear you about the highrises. Ballymun didn’t work out. But on a small island you can’t always build out. Maybe time to build up. Especially in Dublin. Give people somewhere respectable to live and then you’ll see the real value of these 70s style dumps that landlords are currently renting to people at extortionate rates. The value would be sfa. I’m thinking about quality of life here. As right now it’s not very good for so so many people
@Ronan McDermott: well said.
This is an extraordinary misleading economical model. We are in a cycle of boom and bust. Eventually nobody will risk lending this country money. Vulture funds are gathering to pick the bones.
@Greedylocks: the neoliberal model can only produce boom bust cycles, where the wealthy get wealthier as money is siphoned to the top. So they can ride out the storm, unless they fail to save for the inevitable crash, and those at the bottom pay the consequences. A model based on permanent growth on a planet with finite resources, what could possibly go wrong????
@Greedylocks: the neoliberal model can only produce boom bust cycles, where the wealthy get wealthier as money is siphoned to the top. So they can ride out the storm, unless they fail to save for the inevitable crash, and those at the bottom pay the consequences. A model based on permanent growth on a planet with finite resources, what could possibly go wrong????
A model based on exploiting human vulnerabilities through advertising, and serving the market, always a volatile thing, so that the market will meet all our needs. We see the failure of it all around us and blindly elect the same parties with the same policies to do the same thing again and again as if this one time it might work…….
This has been years in the making by our FG whose primary mission has been to recapitalise the banks. The homeless crisis and the unaffordability of houses is barely a thorn in the side for them.
@Quiet Goer: Surely you mean FFG .. Media not telling the true story again at local elections as FFG lose more and more ground. The people are slowly awakening….
@Willy: sf lost the most ground
We are bubbling our way to another bust.
Note that property investment trusts are selling out now to cash in at the top of the market.
These guys know when to cash in their chips.
@William Kelly: you are correct I’m afraid we will be heading for another slump , housing prices cannot keep going up and up.
It’s only in Dublin though, most of the rest of the country are still below 2013 levels
a housing bubble inflated by the European central bank policy to give money to the banks for free. we on the other hand must pay interest on that loan and the banks make money by doing nothing.
who here knows anything about Deusch Bank?
people wanna get smart very quick to what is going on again……2007
Kensington in London, Upper East side in New York, 6th arrondissement in Paris. These Dublin prices are here to stay. It’s nothing to do with ‘neo-liberal’ policies. It’s to do with supply and demand. Why can the hard left never understand this ?
@Virgil: that’s what they said last time…..
@Gus Sheridan: even with a bust, Mt Merrion, Foxrock et al will still be the priciest housing in the country
Anyone know how many in government own second properties?
@thesaltyurchin: 15 landlords sit in the dail at any given day,but I could be wrong,FG k o Connell has 8 property’s .
Our wonderful banks must be approaching solvency so.
have your say