Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Seanad today. Earlier this year, this House passed a motion calling on the Government to provide free hormonal replacement therapy for women. My Commencement matter asks the Minister for Health to make a statement on the process that will be required to extend the free female contraception scheme to include hormone replacement therapy, HRT. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, must be commended on the priority they have given to women's health. The Government has given unprecedented support to women's health. The publication of the first women's health action plan in 2022 included the ring-fencing of more than €48 million in funding for women's health. This is really welcome. It includes free contraception, endometriosis clinics, IVF treatment, menopause clinics, and many more actions as well. I acknowledge that at the outset because it is unprecedented. The introduction of free contraception for young women has been incredibly empowering. It gives them the opportunity to manage their healthcare and it removes the barrier of cost which is real for many women.

The experience of menopause is challenging for women. It is a transformative period in a woman's life. It represents a very significant change in the reproductive system but it also brings with it an awful lot of symptoms. These can be everything from hot flashes to weight gain, hair loss, anxiety, depression, sight loss, arthritis and diabetes - the list goes on and on. It is hard enough to imagine living with any one of those symptoms but many women can have many of them. Many of those symptoms are absolutely invisible to everyone except the woman who is experiencing them. It is invisible to their partners, children, work colleagues, bosses and employers. Many women disappear into those symptoms and from society. They disappear from their workplaces and their families. However, for many, HRT is a solution. It is not a panacea but it helps an awful lot of women. It is free to women who have a medical card, which is right and as it should be. However, the cost of €30 to €70 per month for HRT, the cost of a GP visit which can be between €60 and €80 and the cost of having to have to go to a consultant which could be hundreds of euros for one consultation is a real barrier for some women in accessing effective and essential healthcare treatment. HRT can be a preventative treatment. Not only can it help women to deal with their symptoms immediately, but it can also prevent them from finding themselves in a crisis medical condition down the road.

This Commencement matter looks for an update while acknowledging the unprecedented commitment of the Government to women's healthcare. It reminds the Government that its health action plan promised to grow the available women's health support services and expertise in contraception, menopause and gynaecology, and to change the approach to menopause care to increase the public supports available to women before, during and after menopause. The Government has done incredible work already to support women's health; I believe it can do a lot more. I hope the Minister of State when responding will be able to outline what process can be followed by the Government and supported by this House to extend free HRT through the free contraception scheme.