I welcome the announcement by the Minister for Health on the State funding of IVF by 2023 but as the Taoiseach will appreciate, this is not just a matter of putting some money forward. There needs to be an overall and complete package for those undertaking IVF. What preparatory work has begun to ensure that both parents will be eligible for leave, including sick leave, during this period, that eligibility will be inclusive of all of society and that the process will be open and accessible to all very quickly? The uncertainty is already playing on the hearts and minds of many people around the country.

Obviously the Minister will have proposals in the forthcoming Estimates for the budget. Phase one of the roll-out of the model of care has involved the establishment at secondary care level of regional fertility hubs within maternity networks in order to facilitate the management of a significant proportion of people presenting with infertility issues at this level of intervention. Phase two of the roll-out will see the introduction of tertiary infertility services including IVF in the public health system planned for 2023, at such time as infertility services at secondary level have been developed across the country. The key legislation, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill, passed Second Stage on 23 March and has been referred to the Oireachtas Select Committee on Health for Committee Stage. It is important that we get that Bill through to create the legislative base for this.