Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)

It is great news that the strategy will be launched. I am looking forward to engaging with it and seeing the detail. When I raised this issue last time, the Minister of State talked about how stigma is a big issue and I agree with her on that. Services are also really important, however, and I think we can reduce stigma by having better services and supports for people. We need to make sexual health services everyday, normal and accessible throughout the country. There are currently ten countries in Ireland with no sexual health services. I am surprised this issue is not raised by Deputies across the Dáil, demanding services in their communities. Many of us need access to better sexual health services and it should be an important issue for people. We can also reduce stigma by having public awareness campaigns and challenging negative stereotypes, similar to mental health. We also need better sexual education. This needs leadership, investment and support because this issue has been neglected for far too long.

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