Gareth brings fertility campaign to Seanad Éireann

Gareth, Anna and Senator Fiona O'Loughlin at Leinster House.

A need for changes to how infertility and people seeking treatment for it are dealt with in Ireland was highlighted to members of Seanad Éireann today by Kilcullen resident Gareth Landy, writes Brian Byrne. He also spoke about the subject afterwards on Newstalk radio.

Gareth and his wife Anna became parents of donor-conceived twins in 2019, after a long period of IVF treatment. When they had set out to have a family, Gareth discovered that he'd been born with Klinefelter Syndrome, also known as XXY, a rarely discussed condition relating male infertility.

Meeting members of the Seanad today Gareth specifically called for VAT on donor sperm and donor eggs used in IVF to be dropped. VAT at rates ranging from 17pc to 27pc is charged across the EU for these services, and he says that it would be a great opportunity for a future Irish government to lead the way in zero-rating them so that other EU countries would follow suit.

He also wants XXY designated under the Long-Term Illness Scheme which covers free drugs and medical appliances for the treatment of specific long term illnesses and conditions, and he has called for the formation of an independent fertility agency to supervise fertility treatment services. "I don't feel that XXY is an illness, but that's the language the HSE uses for funding treatment," he told Kieran Cuddihy on Newstalk's Hard Shoulder programme. 

Being XXY means that Gareth was born with an extra chromosome, which is believed to affect one in 500 males. Consequences can include low testosterone levels and related chronic fatigue as well as fertility issues. Once diagnosed, Gareth was able to avail of Testosterone Replacement Therapy which over time helped both his and Anna's efforts to have children and also his fatigue. He describes the treatment as 'transformative', especially as a keen runner and cyclist. "When I ran my first marathon, I didn't know that I was doing so with a third of normal testosterone levels," he told Kieran Cuddihy. "It took me two or three weeks to recover. I ran my fifth one in May and I recovered after two or three days."

He says the reason he and Anna did their IVF in the UK was because they have a fertility regulator there. "It's the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, HFEA. If you're going through fertility treatment, you're very emotionally, physically and financially vulnerable, and we need need this kind of watchdog here to make sure that the clinics are doing what they should be doing."

On treatment funding, Gareth emphasised that his TRT drugs are covered under the Drug Payment Scheme once a monthly cost threshold is reached. But consultants and other procedures, such as regular bloods checks and injections administration, need to be paid for.

Gareth also believes that being very public about his condition will bring more awareness about it to those one in 500 men who may not be aware of their condition. He has campaigned regularly and spoken about it on many platforms and media outlets over the last five years. He is an advocate in Ireland for the Living With XXY organisation.  

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