Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health. The Minister and myself appreciate that hyperemesis gravidarum, or severe nausea, is a debilitating condition for women. The Minister is anxious that our health service should support women with this condition in every way possible. Improving women's health outcomes is a priority for the Minister and the Government. We made a strong commitment to promoting women's health in the programme for Government and are fully committed to the development and improvement of women's health services.

We have made progress on women’s health issues. VAT has been removed from HRT, which has improved equality of access for women across the country. The free contraception scheme commenced this year and will be expanded to include women up to 30 years next year. IVF treatment will be provided in the public health system next year. We also intend to create additional women’s health hubs. These are all initiatives that will positively impact the lives of women in Ireland.

As part of the women's health agenda, officials supporting women's health in the HSE and the Department of Health worked with urgency to identify all of the available options to better support women with hyperemesis gravidarum. As part of budget 2023, the Minister announced €69.2 million in funding for women’s health in 2023, to include dedicated funding for Cariban. The dedicated funding for Cariban will help women who experience hyperemesis, a severe form of morning sickness, during pregnancy, which is difficult to deal with.

On the question of access to medicines to treat the condition, unfortunately the situation is not straightforward. As the Deputy will be aware, the HSE has statutory responsibility for medicine pricing and reimbursement decisions under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. Under the Act, only items that have been granted market authorisation by the European Medicines Agency or the Health Products Regulatory Authority can be added to the reimbursement list. However, that is not the question the Deputy has asked. His question relates to where patients must go to a consultant before they can get a prescription for Cariban. I did not realise that.

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