Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)

I am taking this matter this morning on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I thank Senator Stephenson for raising it as it gives me an opportunity to update the House on the ongoing work to improve women’s health outcomes and experiences. The Senator is correct that women deserve to be heard, respected and believed. The Minister for Health has previously said, and I will repeat it, that we cannot be satisfied with anything less than a health service that provides true equality of care and treatment and where gender is not a barrier or a disadvantage. Unfortunately, until we get to that place, this conversation must continue. The Senator very eloquently highlighted some of the issues this morning. The women’s health action plan phase 2 and our continued commitment in the programme for Government is part of this conversation. Many of the actions contained within the second action plan are completed, for example: free contraception is now available to all women aged 17 to 35; termination of pregnancy services are available in all 19 of our maternity hospitals in line with legislation; there are increased period poverty supports for some of the most vulnerable women and girls in the country; and earlier this month, the Department of Health completed a women’s health listening forum which brought women into the Department of Health to share their experiences with our healthcare services - both positive and negative - so we can work to make changes that women want to see.

In addition, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is committed to the full implementation of the second action plan, and this work is ongoing. Major improvements are happening across services, including: the development of additional post-natal hubs to support women in the weeks after birth, with funding now available to bring a total of 13 hubs on stream nationally; the national maternity experience survey will be conducted in July this year, whereby women who recently gave birth will be invited to share their experiences of our maternity services, which will inform and improve the safety and quality of care provided to women and their babies; increased hours within the specialist menopause clinics will see capacity increase in this valued service; and funding has been allocated to allow for more staff in the two specialised centres for endometriosis care in Tallaght and Cork and the five regional hubs to support the important care provided to women experiencing endometriosis. If she has not been there previously, I invite the Senator to come to Cork, where we just opened a phenomenal facility. It goes back to what she said about women being listened to and supported. It is a fantastic facility. I am very proud of it as a Cork person.

Six HSE-run regional fertility hubs are in operation and referrals for publicly funded, privately provided AHR treatment commenced in September 2023. There has been continued expansion in the network of “see and treat” ambulatory gynaecology clinics to provide necessary care across 21 sites. A total of 18 clinics are now operational and will offer 24,000 appointments to women next year. Last year, the Department of Health published Ireland’s cervical cancer elimination plan with an aim of eliminating cervical cancer by 2040. A breastfeeding steering group has been established to design and develop a new whole-of-government breastfeeding policy for Ireland and the folic acid steering group has also been established to address instances of neural tube defects in newborns. Crucially, the Minister for Health is passionate about increasing the research available to us in the area of women’s health to build a robust evidence base in a long-underrepresented area.

As the Senator knows, most recently, the Minister announced a hormone replacement therapy arrangement for menopause treatment, as announced in budget 2025, will be progressing but with the addition of professional fees being paid to pharmacists, which will make the HRT completely free in respect of participating pharmacies for women who rely on it to treat their menopause symptoms. This will see the cost burden of this period of a woman’s life reduce significantly. The Minister has also written to all community pharmacists, asking them to sign up to this arrangement, which will commence on 1 June this year.

Too often we hear talk about women being dismissed or not listened to in our health service. Again, the Senator has very eloquently raised that matter, and I thank her for that. The voice of women is paramount. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is committed to hearing those voices, progressing the action plan and advancing women’s health in Ireland. I thank the Senator most sincerely for raising the matter. I look forward to working with her and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in delivering the outcomes we all want.