Cost a significant barrier to fertility treatment despite State-funded scheme, survey finds

Irish Examiner

20 hours ago

One in three women does not feel well-informed about fertility treatment options in Ireland, despite a publicly-funded scheme running for almost two years.
Just 10% said they feel they know a lot about the options, an Irish Examiner / Ipsos B+A national opinion poll has found.
Despite improvements in care options here, some 29% agreed the options still seem better abroad than in Ireland.
Cost remains a significant barrier, with only 9% of women saying they agree or somewhat agree fertility treatments are reasonably priced here.
The survey of 1,000 women found:
One in five women experiences fertility difficulties;
Of those who experienced difficulties, 80% sought medical advice;
30% of those with fertility problems go on to have treatment;
Women from more affluent backgrounds are more likely to have treatment.
Just over one-third of the women said they would consider egg freezing. However, one-fifth did not like this approach, the survey found.
This comes against a backdrop of the State's relatively new funding programme, which is only open to heterosexual couples for now.
They can be referred to one of six regional fertility hubs, including in Nenagh.
On average, 450 couples are now being referred each month across the six hubs, with most referred by GPs, the HSE said this week.
The hubs offer a range of fertility care including assessment, medical, or surgical treatments.
Ovulation induction — using fertility drugs to induce ovulation in women — is one example of what is available.
'During the course of 2024, approximately 1,000 couples underwent ovulation induction under the care of the six regional fertility hubs,' a HSE spokesman said.
Couples can also be referred to private fertility clinics for funded treatment.
There are 10 approved providers, including Sims IVF in Cork, Waterstones Cork, and Therapie Fertility in Limerick.
Between September 2023 and June 6 this year, some 2,395 couples were referred to HSE-approved providers. However, the National Infertility Support and Information Group recently raised concerns about the pace of promised expansions.
Chairperson Caitríona Fitzpatrick said: 'There was a number of commitments made in the budget last year around the expansion of the publicly-funded IVF scheme and they have not taken place yet.'
Donor conception which would benefit same-sex couples and single people is still not included.
She welcomed progress on setting up a new assisted human reproduction regulatory authority but expressed frustration at how little information was being shared on timelines and future plans.
Fianna Fáil TD Sean McGrath raised these delays with health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill in the Dáil earlier this month.
The survey was carried out by Ipsos B+A for Feelgood, with a nationally representative sample of 1,078 women aged over 16.
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