State-funded fertility treatment extended to include couples with one child
'Fertility issues can be devastating, and I am conscious that secondary infertility is a significant issue, with many people facing huge financial and emotional difficulties in their attempts to have a second child,' Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said.
'I have listened to the requests from parents in this difficult situation, and I am pleased that we are now in a position to make this potentially life-changing treatment available to more people.'
A woman is eligible for the state-funded treatment if she has not had IVF, has had just one round of privately funded IVF before and has no unused embryos still in storage or started tests for IVF but has not started taking IVF medicine.
An Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) Regulatory Authority will soon be established, with a recruitment campaign currently under way for the chief executive of the organisation.
'The recent campaign for appointment to state boards has now closed and suitable candidates have been identified. I hope to be in a position to make appointments to the board very soon,' Ms Carroll MacNeill said.
The minister said 'significant progress' is being made in relation to AHR legislation.
'Officials at my department are working closely with officials at the Department of Justice and the Department of Children to finalise the bill. Intensive work is under way to publish this legislation as soon as is practical,' she said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said work on a supplementary bill to deal with issues such as parentage and citizenship in respect of surrogacy arrangements and donor-assisted conception is also under way.
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