Girls should be able to access free contraception from the age of 16, even though they are under the age of consent, the Health Minister has said.

The free contraception scheme was originally rolled out to women aged 17 to 25 years old in September 2022 after years of campaigning from health professionals and women’s groups.

The age bracket has been widened out several times since then and the scheme is now available to women from the day of their 17th birthday until the day before their 36th birthday.

The Health Minister now wants to include 16-year-old girls in the scheme; however, there are legal complexities with the plan because the age of consent in Ireland is 17.

The Health Minister says 16-year-olds are already able to access abortion services – so they should be offered free contraception as well.

“It's no more no more complex than that really.”

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) September 18, 2024

Speaking ahead of Cabinet this morning  Minister Donnelly says it makes sense, as the age of medical independence is 16.

“I have a pretty simple view on this which is, a young woman at 16 years of age can walk into her GP today - in medical ethics, 16 is when you're deemed to be an adult, so you can you can go into your GP without a parent or guardian at 16 years of age.

“A young woman in Ireland today can go into her GP and say she's pregnant and she wants to avail of termination of pregnancy services and they will be provided to her – quite rightly.

“I feel that if we are offering those services to a young woman who is 16 years of age, she should also be able to go to her GP and say, ‘I'd like to be able to avail of free contraception’.

“So it's no more no more complex than that, really.”

'Legitimate concerns'

Minister Donnelly said the free contraception scheme has “gone very well” since it was launched – noting that over half the women in Ireland aged 17 to 25 years old have now made use of it.

He said reducing the age is 16 is “more complex” adding that Department of Health officials have been considering it for “quite some time”.

“There are some very legitimate concerns that have been raised with me,” he said.

“Some around legal complexities, some around the age of consent being 17 and then there are medical ethics and various principles that are used in medical ethics.

“So there has been an ongoing discussion and there is legitimate concern among some health care professionals.”

"Complex"

Minister Donnelly said he has not encountered any resistance to his plan from within the Fianna Fáil party.

He said the concerns he has encountered have come from health care providers and officials who are, “saying it's just more complex because of the legal age of consent and so forth”.

“As I said, my view on it is, if a young woman at 16 can avail of termination of pregnancy services, surely we should be able to provide her with contraception services as well,” he said.

Free contraception scheme

The Free Contraception Scheme was developed to remove cost barriers and expand access to contraception – particularly for long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) like coils and implants.

The scheme removes the cost barrier for LARCs saving women as much as €300 - €400.

The scheme is open to women, girls and other people identifying as transgender or non-binary, who are ordinarily resident in Ireland and for whom prescription contraception is deemed suitable by their doctors.