Every woman in Ireland between the ages of 17 and 25 can avail of free contraception from today, despite earlier Government advice that the policy would probably be ineffective and a waste of public funds. The Government estimates that the scheme will cost €9 million for the rest of the year which means it could cost around €35 million in a full year.

The policy was discussed in a a 2019 Working Group on Access to Contraception, under the then Health Minister, Simon Harris.

It said, “there is a considerable risk that simply making contraception free to the end-user will only displace private expenditure without necessarily modifying behaviour or yielding the level of desired health benefits.”

The Government adopted the policy anyway and it went into effect today.

The scheme is designed to remove the financial burden around contraception from younger people and it is not linked to having a medical card.

Currently the cost of these prescriptions are mostly covered for medical card holders, but those without a card can pay hundreds of euro in fees and prescriptions.

The deal covers the pill and long-lasting contraception, including coil insertions and women will need to show their PPS number as eligibility will be checked.