Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was delighted to see this question come in. I share the Deputy's view that this is a priority. Progressing women’s health is a priority for me and for this Government. We made a strong commitment to promoting women’s health in the programme for Government. I am pleased that budget 2021 provides a very significant investment to deliver on this commitment, something I have been pushing very hard for.

I have allocated funding of €12 million to ensure a renewed impetus in the implementation of the national maternity strategy and the new model of maternity care and to improve gynaecology services as well. I have allocated funding of €10 million to strengthen screening services including BreastCheck and CervicalCheck. Building on the work of the women's health task force, I have allocated an additional €5 million to improve outcomes.

Women have specific physical, mental and social health needs and experience poorer health outcomes relating to certain conditions including some chronic diseases, cancers and mental health conditions. Women’s health outcomes and experiences are also affected by their roles in the family and society and their wider circumstances. For example, more than 60% of unpaid carers are women which means they often access services on behalf of others.

The women's health task force was established in September 2019 to improve both health outcomes and experiences of healthcare for women and girls. It builds on recent progress in women’s health, including the implementation of the national maternity strategy, the implementation of the sexual health strategy, the establishment of a national mesh specialist centre, improvements in screening services, improvements in sexual assault services, the introduction of termination of pregnancy services, the roll-out of the maternal and newborn clinical management system and the development of new models of care for ambulatory gynaecology and infertility.

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