James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Members. I thank Senator Byrne for her question. It is a privilege to be here in the Seanad addressing colleagues. It is my first time to do so as a Minister of State but I have been here as Cathaoirleach of the justice committee. I know the great form the Seanad has and it is a privilege to address it today.

Senator Byrne's question is extremely important and I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. I thank her for raising the issue of State-funded HRT provision for menopause treatment. The Government and the Minister are firmly committed to improving women's health throughout the course of life. Having listened to the Minister at my party's recent think-in event, I witnessed at first-hand how committed he is to women's health. To be fair to him, he has introduced a number of initiatives in this area and he is to be commended on doing so.

Since the establishment of the women's health task force in 2019, it has engaged with women throughout Ireland. It has listened to what women want from the health service and the Government has taken a number of positive steps to improve women's experience of healthcare and health outcomes. The second women's health action plan for 2024 to 2025 was published on 18 April. This plan represents the next phase in women's health. It focuses on improving health outcomes for women and girls in Ireland by introducing new developments and embedding initiatives introduced in the previous women's health action plan.

Most recently the Minister stated his intention to provide State-funded hormone replacement therapy to all women who require it in treating their menopause symptoms. Officials at the Department of Health are engaging with key stakeholders and exploring the options available with regard to implementing this ministerial priority. Improving menopause care has been a priority since the publication of the first women's health action plan and significant progress has been made to improve supports for women experiencing menopause symptoms at primary and specialist care levels.

The Government removed VAT from HRT products in budget 2023 to assist with the cost of prescriptions. Six specialist menopause clinics have opened for women who have complex experiences of menopause. Under the new action plan, there are plans to extend the opening hours of these clinics to provide more opportunities for women to avail of the care they provide. A quick reference guide for menopause launched to support general practitioners and practice nurses in diagnostics and treatment at primary care level.

The national menopause awareness campaign was launched in October 2022. This was a direct response to demand from Irish women for greater knowledge and understanding of menopause, as well as better access to accurate information and support. This campaign was relaunched in March 2023 and, it is fair to say, it has had a significant impact in the media, general awareness and public understanding.It was received positively by both women and men who agreed that this is a topic we should be speaking about openly in society. That campaign was accompanied by a dedicated web page to provide trusted information on the menopause as well. It is worth acknowledging that menopause is not uniformly experienced and can present differently for different women in terms of severity, duration and symptoms experienced. Therefore, in respect of HRT, not all women experiencing menopause may be clinically eligible or suitable for HRT, which is a prescription-based treatment. Women may also choose not to take HRT but to address their symptoms through alternative therapies or lifestyle changes. There are often many cures for different ailments and people make individual choices as to which ones to opt for. It is important that women and healthcare providers continue to be educated on the use of HRT and other options and that together they explore all of the options available to find the most suitable one. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is confident that the awareness raising among the public and the supports for clinicians introduced in recent years have gone a long way towards improving health outcomes for women experiencing menopause symptoms.

I thank Senator Byrne again for raising this issue and I look forward to hearing her response.