The Minister for Health says he intends to secure funding for contraception as part of Budget 2022.
Improved access to reproductive healthcare was a key recommendation of the Oireachtas Committee on the 8th amendment.
Fianna Fail senator Lisa Chambers says this is an important step forward for women's healthcare:
"Minister Donnelly has indicated that it's his strong intention to secure funding for free contraception in budget 2022 and he'd be negotiating with the Minister of Public expenditure to secure that funding. This is really important because it was a key recommendation from the Oireachtas committee on the 8th amendment in the last term to ensure free contraception was available in Ireland, and I think it's really important now that it's a commitment in the programme for government that that'd be followed through on."