Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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564. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the Women’s Health Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60139/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Improving women’s health outcomes is a key priority for me and this Government. We made a strong commitment to 'Promoting Women’s Health' in the Programme for Government and are fully committed to improving health outcomes for all women. We will continue the development and improvement of women’s health services and work with women and girls to improve their health across the whole life cycle.

This commitment has been reflected within Budget 2022, in the allocation of €31 million for new development funding to specifically support women’s health. This additional funding supplements both the ongoing work of the Department in key areas for women and a specific dedicated allocation for innovative approaches to women’s health services nationwide, through the Women’s Health Taskforce ‘Women’s Health Fund’.

The Women’s Health Fund will support the delivery of the Women’s Health Action Plan 2022. The Women's Health Action Plan 2022 is anticipated to be published in December. Informed by the available evidence and engagement with women across the country, key stakeholders, clinicians, and advocates for women’s health, the Action Plan will outline measures needed to tackle a wide range of issues impacting all women’s health outcomes in Ireland.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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565. To ask the Minister for Health the measures being considered to ensure that marginalised women receive adequate levels of healthcare services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60140/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Improving women’s health outcomes is a key priority for me and this Government. We made a strong commitment to Promoting Women’s Health in the Programme for Government and are fully committed to improving health outcomes for all women. We will continue the development and improvement of Women’s Health services and work with women and girls to improve their health across the whole life cycle.

Underscoring the government’s commitment to Women’s Health has been the establishment of the Women’s Health Taskforce in September 2019 to improve both health outcomes and experiences of healthcare for women and girls.

This commitment has been reflected within Budget 2022, in the allocation of €31 million for new development funding to specifically support women’s health. This additional funding supplements both the ongoing work of the Department in key areas for women and a specific dedicated allocation for innovative approaches to women’s health services nationwide, through the Women’s Health Taskforce ‘Women’s Health Fund’.

The Women’s Health Fund will support the delivery of the Women’s Health Action Plan 2022, which will be published in mid/late December. Informed by the available evidence and engagement with women across the country, key stakeholders, clinicians, and advocates for women’s health, the Action Plan will outline measures needed to tackle a wide range of issues impacting women’s health outcomes in Ireland. The health needs of marginalised women is recognised as an area of importance within the plan. Alongside the significant activity already in place within the Department of Health and the HSE for the health needs of marginalised groups, the Women's Health Taskforce will look to further opportunities to drive progress for these women in 2022. This consideration will be informed by the recent National Women's Council 'Radical Listening' report.

In relation to ongoing activity, the Department of Health has oversight responsibility for the health policy for vulnerable groups such as people who are homeless, applicants for international protection, Roma and Travellers and other socially excluded groups. Responsibility for the provision of health service falls under the HSE’s National Office for Social Inclusion, which works to improve access to mainstream health services, as well as providing targeted measures.

Migrants, refugees and international protection applicants receive a range of services to address their health needs. International protection applicants in Direct Provision are, in the main, eligible for a medical card, which gives them access to a range of health and community services.

In addition, NGOs, funded by the HSE, offer support to migrants by raising awareness of the services which are available to them. They also provide information on how to avail of the services they may require.

The HSE’s Second National Intercultural Health Strategy 2018-2023 aims to provide an integrated approach to addressing the support needs experienced by service users of diverse ethnic and cultural and religious backgrounds nationally. The goals and strategic objectives of the Strategy include enhanced accessibility of services, provision of high-quality, culturally responsive services to service users from diverse ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds.

The National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2017 – 2021 contains actions for implementation by the Department of Health and the HSE, which aims to improve health outcomes for Travellers and Roma. The HSE’s Second National Intercultural Health Strategy 2018-2023 references the DSGBV Action plan and outlines further relevant actions in relation to service users from diverse ethnic and cultural groups.

The Department will continue working to ensure that a range of health-related services and supports are operational for women affected by social exclusion, including those who are homeless, members of minority communities including Travellers or Roma, members of the LGBTI+ community, and international protection applicants.

The Women’s Health Taskforce will continue to work with the National Women’s Council of Ireland to prioritise different issues each year with the aim of improving women’s health outcomes and experiences of healthcare.

The National Women’s Council is a key partner in ensuring women’s voices are represented throughout the work of the Women’s Health Taskforce and representatives from the Council participate as members of the Taskforce. I look forward to continued collaboration with the National Women’s Council going forward and this report will help inform the work of the Women’s Health Taskforce as they launch their Action Plan for 2022.