The Health Minister says funding and legislative issues are preventing the new free contraception scheme from expanding to cover all age groups.
From today, women between 17 and 25 can access their GP and receive contraception free of charge.
Welcoming todays announcement Wexford Minister of State James Brown says in the context of current cost-of-living challenges, he is delighted to see Government introducing significant measures aimed at alleviating cost pressures for young women when seeking to access healthcare.
But Stephen Donnelly says this is just a “starting point” for the programme and aims to expand it on an annual basis