Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response and for her commitment. I would appreciate an update on the laboratory. The Minister of State is also right to highlight that awareness and accessibility are essential to the success of the programme and ultimately to the prevention of deaths. The Department of Health and the HSE must continue to promote and explain the relevance of the service, and this must include multifaceted campaigns to reach everyone between the ages of 25 and 65. The Minister of State mentioned social media initiatives as being important to reach younger cohorts. We need easy to read information to improve accessibility and translated materials to reflect the diversity of people living in Ireland. On this particular issue I am glad the Minister of State is taking the question instead of the Minister for Health. Accessibility is an issue that is continually raised at the Committee on Disability Matters, especially around women's health. Physical barriers around entering GP surgeries or health centres are still common, and the complexity of transport remains a massive obstacle for people with disabilities in accessing healthcare. It is only right the screening service is free, but the Government needs to ensure there are no financial barriers to anyone who needs to access the service, because it is something disabled women have highlighted to the committee. People with a disability often live on fixed and limited incomes and have to pay for taxis and other transport to avail of services, and that sometimes involves delaying appointments or not making appointments, so we need to do everything possible to avoid those situations. While we appreciate the importance of the service, there are more steps the Government and HSE could take to ensure greater uptake and accessibility. I urge the Minister of State to look at those and engage with all stakeholders to develop a truly universal, free and accessible service. It was Disabled Women Ireland in particular who spoke strongly on that at the committee.

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