The Green Party are backing a policy that women in Ireland should be given free contraception, it was initially introduced in the Seanad last year but planning for the policy was disrupted because of the pandemic.
With this year’s budget looming, they want to roll out the scheme for women aged between 17 and 25 which would cost an estimated €18-€22m a year.
Neasa Hourigan TD for Dublin Central told Newstalk: “Access to free contraception is about giving people, regardless of their financial means, complete control over their own bodies and lives - whether to have children and when to have them.
"It is the next step on from the autonomy provided to women when we repealed the Eighth Amendment.
“We negotiated to include this commitment in the Programme for Government and now we need to deliver on that commitment.”
Green Party Councillor Donna Cooney wants young women to be prioritised.
She believes that the Government should set out a timeline for the development of universal free contraception in the lifetime of the current Dail which would cost the state between €80m to €100m a year.
She said: “It’s to discuss free contraception for young women ahead of Budget 2022, called Towards Free Contraception For All.”
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