Fertility services to be provided free of charge for first time this month

The first publicly funded fertility treatment services in the State will begin later this month.

All eight private fertility clinics in Ireland will provide services on behalf of the HSE after referrals from newly established regional hubs.

They are Beacon Care Fertility in Dublin with satellite clinics in Limerick and Louth; First IVF with clinics in Cork, Galway and Kerry; the Merrion fertility clinic in Dublin; ReproMed Dublin, Galway and Louth; Sims IVF in Cork, Dublin, Carlow, Limerick and Louth; Thérapie Fertility in Dublin with satellite clinics in Limerick and Louth; and the Waterstone clinics in Cork, Kildare and Waterford.

In addition, there are six regional fertility hubs based on maternity networks. They are in the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin; Rotunda Hospital, Dublin; the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin; the Galway University hospital; Cork University Maternity Hospital; and Nenagh Hospital as part of Limerick University Maternity hospital.

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Some €10 million has been allocated to fund one cycle of in vitro fertilisation treatment for up to 3,500 people.

The delivery of publicly funded fertility services for those with limited income has been the subject of a long campaign in Ireland. It brings the State into line with other countries in Europe that provide such services free of charge.

Private fertility treatment can typically cost between €3,500 and €4,500, depending on the provider.

The programme envisages one IVF cycle being publicly funded for couples who have had no, or only one, privately funded cycle – with up to three cycles of Intrauterine Insemination treatment covered for those it is deemed appropriate for, clinically.

HSE National Women and Infants Health Programme clinical director, Dr Cliona Murphy, said there is now a “good regional spread of services”, which means women will not have to travel too far to avail of fertility treatment.

“The fertility care pathway aims to support people in accessing services as close to where they live as possible, as the first step is to visit your GP, who can refer you to one of the six HSE regional fertility hubs,” she said.

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“This pathway ensures that fertility issues are addressed through the public health system at the lowest level of clinical intervention necessary.”

She advised people to first contact their GP, who can do some initial tests and provide advice on fertility issues. They can then refer people who meet the access criteria to one of the regional fertility hubs for further tests, investigations and treatments.

Many people who attend the regional fertility hubs may not need to be referred for further advanced fertility procedures as treatments provided in the hubs will manage their fertility challenges.

Those who cannot be treated in the regional hubs will be referred instead to the designated fertility clinics.

The HSE said it will be actively monitoring and reviewing the demand for this service.