Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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334. To ask the Minister for Health to provide an update on the "pause" of mesh for the surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence that has been in place since July 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16230/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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335. To ask the Minister for Health the reason the pause on mid-urethral sling surgery has not been lifted even though national guidelines which were commissioned, endorsed and published by the HSE in January 2023, recommend that all women who need surgery for stress urinary incontinence should be offered this as an option alongside all other appropriate surgical operations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16231/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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336. To ask the Minister for Health if the 19 recommendations made by the chief medical officer in his 2018 report "The use of Uro-Gynaecological mesh in surgical procedures" have been addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16232/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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337. To ask the Minister for Health if the National Mesh Oversight Group has produced the report it was commissioned to complete by the end of 2023; if so, when this report will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16233/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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338. To ask the Minister for Health if the current chief medical officer has provided an update on the pause of mesh for the surgical treatment of stress incontinence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16234/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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342. To ask the Minister for Health the reason why women with stress incontinence are not offered mid-urethral sling surgery as an option, despite the national clinical guidelines recommending that women have a choice of procedure and that the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022, providing for their legal right to make informed decisions about their health; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16280/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 334, 335, 336, 337, 338 and 342 together.

Uro-gynaecological (transvaginal) mesh is used in the surgical treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in women and such mesh devices have been widely used for this over the past two decades. However, in late 2017, in line with emerging international evidence, concerns were raised at national level regarding the frequency and severity of complications associated with the use of transvaginal mesh devices. The then Minister for Health requested the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to prepare a report on the clinical and technical issues involved.

In November 2018, the CMO’s report on The Use of Uro-Gynaecological Mesh in Surgical Procedures was published. The report contains a number of recommendations regarding the safe and effective provision of mesh procedures in urogynaecology and an appropriate response to women who suffer complications as a result of undergoing such procedures. In July 2018, the CMO asked the HSE to pause all mesh procedures where clinically safe to do so, pending confirmation of the implementation of specific recommendations in the CMO’s report.

In 2023 the HSE established a National Vaginal Mesh Implant Oversight Group to oversee vaginal mesh implants in our HSE acute hospitals in terms of both primary implant surgery and tertiary complications services. The focus of this group was to review and assess implementation of the recommendations as set out in the CMO’s report and assess the appropriateness of resuming uro-gynaecological mesh procedures, cognisant of international developments and approaches in this complex area.

My Department has recently received a report from the HSE’s National Vaginal Mesh Implant Oversight Group. My officials are currently examining the report and liaising with their counterparts in the HSE to ensure comprehensive implementation of the CMO’s recommendations. It is expected that this process will be finalised soon.

Women’s health is a key priority for the Department of Health. I understand the impact the pause on the use of uro-gynaecological mesh has on women who wish to avail of this surgery, however my Department must take a safety-first approach to this issue.

The focus for my Department and the HSE remains the full implementation of the CMO’s report and ensuring that women who require aftercare following mesh complications receive high quality, multi-disciplinary patient centred care in accordance with the evidence and supported by robust clinical governance mechanisms.