Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the announcement made by the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, last week that a public programme in respect of pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP, would be rolled out by the HSE. PrEP is a drug that prevents the transmission of HIV. The State has a very poor record of combatting HIV and transmission rates have been rising. There were 500 new cases last year. I first raised this issue here in February 2017 and I have spoken many times about it since. While I welcome the announcement, the programme is not a silver bullet. We need to continue to strengthen our community testing services and to eradicate stigma surrounding HIV. I give a special mention to campaigners and groups that led the way in calling for the introduction of this drug. I refer to ACT UP Dublin, particularly Andrew Leavitt and Will St. Leger, and Adam Shanley from HIV Ireland. They have shown great leadership. Two years ago, the House held statements to mark World Aids Day. I respectfully ask the Leader to make time available this year in order that we can discuss the next steps in combatting HIV transmission.