Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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672. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated full-year cost to ensure universal access to dedicated menopause counselling supports and screening for cardiovascular and osteoporosis risk factors. [10181/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Women's health is a key priority for me, as Minister for Health, and for my Department. In 2019, the Women's Health Task force was established to improve women's health outcomes and experiences in Ireland. On the 8th of March 2022, International Women’s Day, I launched the Women's Health Action Plan 2022-2023. This Action Plan is the first of its kind in Ireland and marks a significant milestone in our efforts to improve women's health. The Action Plan puts forward a wide range of positive initiatives to support women’s health and sets out a framework for prioritising women's health.

Menopause is a key action within this plan, committing to change the approach to menopause care in Ireland and to increase public supports available to women before, during and after menopause. Significant progress has been made in the implementation of this plan throughout 2022 and this year in the area of menopause including:

- the development of 6 specialist menopause clinics for women who have complex experiences of menopause,

- the development of a Quick Reference Guide for Menopause to support GPs in providing care to people in the community who are experiencing menopause

- the launch of a Menopause Awareness Campaign accompanied by a dedicated webpage to provide trusted information for anyone affected by menopause in Ireland,

- work on the development of a Menopause in the Workplace Framework for the wider Public Service.

In regards to the Deputy's query regarding screening, the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) is an independent advisory committee which advises me as Minister for Health and my Department on all new proposals for population-based screening programmes and revisions to existing programmes. The Committee plays a significant strategic role in the development and consideration of population-based screening programmes in Ireland.

This independent expert group considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria. It is important we have rigorous processes in place to ensure our screening programmes are effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.

An exact costing cannot be provided for the introduction of a new population-based screening programme as financial cost is but one factor that is considered in the decision-making process. Due to the complex nature of the evaluation process and the criteria against which a decision is made, it would be impossible to accurately quantify the cost of a new screening programme until a full evidential assessment was completed.

The NSAC holds an Annual Call for proposals from various sources such as members of the public, HSE, clinicians on the introduction of new screening programmes or changes to our existing programmes. Further information about the NSAC and its processes are available on their website www.nsacommittee.gov.ie.

It is also important to note that the GP Access to Diagnostics initiative, which was launched in January 2021 and is open to the full adult population for referral, provides a structured pathway for GPs to directly access radiology diagnostic tests, so patients can access these tests quickly and without seeing a consultant. In 2022, over 253,000 diagnostic tests were completed through this initiative, which includes DEXA, X-Ray, MRI, and CT Scans, provisioned by private providers and avoiding referral to the acute setting for patients to access these tests. This year, funding of €47 million has been allocated to ensure the continuation of this initiative, with the full population eligible to be referred for outsourced radiology scans, to the end of 2023.