Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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2136. To ask the Minister for Health if he plans to map public AEDs throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36652/21]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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2137. To ask the Minister for Health if he plans to provide more public AEDs particularly in areas in which there is a lack of facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36653/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2136 and 2137 together.

This matter relates to the work of the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) Steering Group. In 2019, this Group finalised an Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy for Ireland, “Putting Survival at the Heart of the Community” and submitted it to the Health Service Executive (HSE) Commissioners, who have accepted the recommendation of the Steering Group.

As this Parliamentary Question relates to service delivery it is a matter for the HSE. However, members of the Oireachtas are advised that the HSE is currently unable to access the information to answer Parliamentary Questions due to the recent cyber-attack, which has required a temporary shut-down of HSE IT systems. The disruption to service is on-going, and the HSE is working hard to restore its IT capacity and resume normal services. Members of the Oireachtas will be advised as soon as the HSE is again in a position to provide responses to PQs and are encouraged to resubmit their Parliamentary Questions at that point.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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2138. To ask the Minister for Health the reason gambling is not included in the recent drug and alcohol behaviour survey as previously indicated. [36654/21]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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2139. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the implementation of the Programme for Government commitment to provide free contraception over a phased period commencing with women aged 17 to 25 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36655/21]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Following the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, a Working Group was established in April 2019 to consider the range of policy, regulatory and legislative issues arising in relation to improving access to contraception in Ireland.

The Group’s high-level report, published in October 2019, identified the barriers that exist to accessing contraception and the mechanisms available to overcome those barriers, noting that any policy proposal must focus on accessibility, education, and workforce capacity as well as cost.

A sizable body of work remains to be addressed in order to develop and finalise the policy approach, bring forward the necessary legislative proposals and ensure the implementation of service delivery arrangements.

It is however important to stress that my Department and this Government remain committed to providing free contraception over a phased basis, starting with women aged 17 – 25, as set out in the Programme for Government.

Progress on these issues has unfortunately been delayed until recently, given the need to focus on and prioritise the response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Department is currently assembling a Contraception Implementation Group, which will commence work imminently.

Some access to free contraception is already enabled, through the National Condom Distribution Service (NCDS), which was established by the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) in October 2015.The NCDS functions as a central point for distributing free condoms and lubricant sachets to HSE services and other organisations working with individuals and groups at increased risk of negative sexual health outcomes.

These include migrants; young people; gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men; sex workers; people living with addiction issues and people living with HIV. From 2017 to the end of 2019, the number of organisations ordering from the NCDS has doubled.

The service was extended to third-level institutions in late 2019. Third-level institutions can now order condom dispensers from the HSE, which enable the provision of free condoms and sexual health information to students on campuses nationwide. The SHCPP advises that third level institutions will be contacted, prior to the commencement of on-campus attendance in September, with regard to their engagement with the NCDS.

Information leaflets are provided with the condom dispensers, which outline to students how to use condoms correctly, and emphasise the importance of using condoms consistently and every time sex happens. The information leaflets direct students to HSE - led and HSE-funded websites for further information about sexual health and wellbeing; www.sexualwellbeing.ie and www.man2man.ie.

It should be noted that, while oral contraception and various forms of long-acting reversible contraception can be more effective at preventing pregnancy, condoms provide protection against STIs that is not provided by non-barrier forms of contraception..

It is envisaged that expansion of the NCDS will also be facilitated, in order to support the STI prevention and sexual health promotion needs of people living in Ireland.