Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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462. To ask the Minister for Health the steps that have been taken to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030 in line with a report (details supplied);; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44389/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The HSE established a National Hepatitis C Treatment Programme (NHCTP) in 2015 and began the process of providing treatment for Hepatitis C using Directly Acting Antivirals to patients prioritised according to clinical need. The NHCTP goal is to make Hepatitis C a rare disease in Ireland by 2026, and in accordance with the WHO target, to eliminate it in Ireland by 2030. The NHCTP works in partnership with the Irish Prison Service nationally, and with Hospital and community teams, to provide outreach to all prisoners that require treatment for Hepatitis C. Since its inception in 2015, the NHCTP has treated over 6,600 patients with Hepatitis C virus.

The NHCTP’s Community Prescribing Project will expand in the future to be available for people not on the opioid substitution treatment scheme. An online home testing option, available later this year, will expand the testing and treatment to people who are currently undiagnosed. The NHCTP will utilise all possible treatment options and the medical needs of individuals identified will dictate which care pathway is best. Treatment will remain free to people regardless of where the service is delivered. The NHCTP will develop a communication plan to support the rollout of the home testing service. This communication plan will also aim to destigmatise the testing and treatment associated with Hepatitis C.

In collaboration with the Health Information and Quality Authority, the NHCTP is currently carrying out a national sero-prevalence study to estimate the prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection among people in Ireland born between 1965 and 1985.

The NHCTP reports that it is very much still on track to eliminate the Hepatitis C virus in Ireland by 2030.