Period poverty & free contraceptives to be addressed in Budget plan

The long-awaited Budget plan which is being announced tomorrow, is said to include quite a few new health benefits for women and children.

As reported by The Independent, €10M will be allocated to the roll out of free contraception for young adults across Ireland. Furthermore, the Budget is also set to include packages for mental health and disability services.

In other wonderful news, for the first time in Irish history, measures are to be taken to tackle period poverty, a largely unspoken issue which affects so many people. 

Possibly due to the recent spotlight given to violence against women, money is also to be allocated to expand services at sexual assault treatment units.

The publication reports that children up to the age of seven years are to be offered free GP care, in an effort to alleviate health costs on families across the country. 

Meanwhile, the Drug Refund Scheme’s threshold will be lowered from €114 to a flat €100, which could save people €168 per year.

However, child benefit will once again be left alone.

The official Budget 2022 is to be announced tomorrow afternoon, October 12.