Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State here today, and support Senator Pauline O'Reilly in her call around access for women to hormone replacement therapy. We have spoken on this before and had many discussions and debates. It was mentioned once about the word "menopause" being mentioned more times in this Chamber than in a lot of previous Seanadaí and Governments to date. We are openly discussing something that has not had a lot of time for discussion, and that is really crucial.

We know it is a normal life event. Like so many things for women, it is going to happen to every single one of us. The challenge is that sometimes women are not as familiar with the fact that the symptoms can be tackled. There are ways to manage these symptoms, and even to associate symptoms with the menopause.

When we spoke before, we talked about how different all of these changes are. Things like brain fog, tiredness, irritable bowel syndrome and even the loss of oestrogen can cause cardiovascular issues which, again, have an impact on bone and heart health. In general, there are those who experience poor concentration, anxiety and depression. As I said before, due to a lack of information awareness, many women suffer in silence and sometimes do not realise how effective HRT can be as well. We know in our health service there are inequalities on a geographical level as well. There are inequalities in access to services throughout the country, and this an issue particularly in the west, which is the area I am looking at. It is not that is a cure-all for everything but it is a way to help women, and having access to it for free is something that would really be welcomed by so many women.

I know a lot has been done, especially in the Department of Health, with regard to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly's and the Government's focus on this. I know they are looking at ways to make it more accessible, like removing the VAT and so on on HRT, which is really important. What Senator O'Reilly is looking at here in making her call is that we note how inflation and the cost of living affects women and girls disproportionately. That is very well known. We know the most deprived group here are single mums, for example. Looking across the country, probably the most deprived group of people are single mothers. We know that from the Pobal deprivation index. It is very important that we are looking at how we are going to support all women who will be going through this. I know the Minister of State is very supportive of this as well.

The other thing I would like to mention is that so many groups are coming on board now. I know the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, today launched a menopause in the workplace framework for the Civil Service. I used to work in Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. It is very important to realise there are a lot of women who work in the public service and for the State who could access these treatments. I know other companies are coming on board in giving leave and supports for women with regard to the menopause. It is crucial we are looking at access to supports for their health. That is what Senator O'Reilly is doing.

It is crucial we are looking at supports. I ask the Minister of State to comment on something. We had the Sláintecare healthy communities programme. We have our primary care networks that are now being opened throughout the country. There is one that has just opened, the Grove Hospital in Tuam. Those primary care networks are going to be crucial for delivering care, particularly in rural and regional areas. For example, I know there are six specialist menopause clinics this year. How can we rely on those services and support GPs? I know there was a GP manual or guide issued last year. How are we going to engage with those groups? Will GPs be run off their feet or are there practice nurses within GP practices who are going to support women? How do we support getting access out to women across the board on this? I thank the Minister of State for her time.