Eligible patients will now be referred through regional fertility hubs for publicly funded assisted human reproduction (AHR) treatment, it has been announced.

Patients will be entitled to one full cycle of IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment, provided in an HSE-approved private clinic of their choice, according to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.

Some €31 million was allocated in Budget 2022 and more than €69 million in Budget 2023 to funding women’s health services, which included the network of six regional fertility hubs.

Patients referred by their GP to these hubs, whose fertility issues cannot be managed at a low level of intervention, are now being referred for AHR treatment in private clinics.