We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
SOME WOMEN CONTINUE to be charged for their contraception despite a government scheme that promoted it as free for those within a certain age group.
The Free Contraception Scheme was rolled out in September 2022 and was incrementally expanded to include all women between the ages of 17 and 35.
It includes implants, IUDs, and oral contraceptives, such as the pill, as well as all contraception-related appointments.
Zoe Coady is an influencer from Dublin who took to TikTok to share her own experience of almost being charged €70 for getting her bar (contraceptive implant) changed.
“I said, ‘Hi, I’m here for my appointment’. And she just said, ‘Yes, a consultation for the pill. That’ll be €70 please’.
She says the receptionist was the same person she’d booked the appointment with over the phone just two hours prior.
Zoe informed her that the appointment was for the bar, which is free under the scheme.
“She kind of looked at me, made a bit of a huff, and grabbed the form from behind her.”
Zoe said there were “stacks” of forms printed out. She filled in her details and ultimately didn’t have to pay.
She posted a TikTok about it to make others aware of what had happened, concerned that some young women wouldn’t stand up for themselves like she had.
The video now has over 25,000 likes and more than 300 comments, many of which are from women sharing similar experiences.
One commenter said she was almost charged €300 for appointments related to the coil. She said the receptionist was “not impressed” when she informed her that it was free.
Another said the receptionist was “snarky” after she refused to pay for her repeat prescription.
Lara (20) told The Journal that she tried to renew her prescription for the pill over the phone at a GP surgery in Dublin. After the call, the receptionist sent her a payment link. Lara thought it was “a bit strange”.
“I was kind of second guessing myself, saying, ‘Oh, maybe I don’t qualify for the scheme, but I 100% do. I’m only 20 years old and that’s within the age range.”
The link prompted her to pay €25 so she called back the receptionist, who admitted it was a mistake.
Lara told a colleague who goes to the same GP about her experience and the colleague said the same had happened to her.
In a statement, the HSE said that the scheme is provided by GPs “who hold a Free Contraception Contract”.
“GPs who have not signed up to the Scheme may charge patients a private fee for a contraception service.”
Currently, 2,428 out of 2,538 GPs working in Ireland hold a Free Contraception Contract.
Lara’s GP surgery was one of them, which she knows as she previously availed of the scheme there without any problems.
She thinks it’s “an absolute disgrace” that doctors have the option of not signing up to the scheme, adding that this is not how it was advertised to women by the government and the HSE.
“This scheme was shown to us as if it was completely free for everything, and for that to have not been specified especially when these announcements about the free contraception scheme were coming out – that’s a disgrace.
“There are some people who can’t afford that and some people who rely on contraception to keep them well.”
Abi (21) went on the pill earlier this year, but after feeling unwell she returned to the doctor to change her prescription.
“I had every single negative side effect of that pill.” But she says the doctor insisted it was nothing to do with the pill and that she was depressed and should go to counselling.
Abi left the GP but soon received a call saying she hadn’t paid. She says she was told that, because she spoke about “unrelated things” in her appointment, it wasn’t covered under the scheme.
She explained that she would not pay as it was a contraception-related appointment, but she continued to receive automated messages requesting payment.
She eventually blocked the number, went to a different doctor about her symptoms and has since been taken off the pill.
Saoirse (23) told The Journal that she went to get the bar removed at a GP in Galway and the receptionist attempted to charge her €35 for the surgical kit used for the procedure. According to the HSE website, all parts of implantation and removal are now free.
Saoirse said the receptionist argued with her and was “really rude”, so much so that she ended up paying the fee. She no longer attends that GP.
“I don’t really want to be taken advantage of, especially as a young woman.
It happens more to people who are younger and have less of a voice.
She added that it concerns her that some people would have the expectation of a free appointment and perhaps wouldn’t have the funds to cover a significant unexpected expense.
The HSE advised patients who meet the criteria to ask their GP practice if they have a contract before booking an appointment or requesting a prescription.
The HSE website is also updated, as required, to inform the public of any service changes.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say