David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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568. To ask the Minister for Health whether younger-onset dementia is recognised within care standards as distinct to dementia in people over the age of 65; whether there is funding allocated specifically for age-appropriate dementia services for this cohort of people; if there are specific in-home and respite care supports for families where a person under 65 has dementia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22732/25]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The HSE’s 2023 Dementia Model of Care recognises the unique needs of people with young onset dementia, many of whom have young children, may still be in employment and may be financially supporting the family. In addition, younger people often present with atypical symptoms or rarer forms of dementia, meaning that diagnosis may be more complex and may take longer. The Dementia Model of Care makes specific recommendations on communicating a diagnosis of young onset dementia, both to the person receiving the diagnosis and to their spouse/partner and children. It specifically recommends that 100% of people with young onset dementia be referred in the first instance to a social worker. The importance of age-appropriate dementia-specific activities and peer support for people with young onset dementia is also highlighted in the Model of Care.

Since 2021, the Government has worked to progressively increase funding for dementia services and supports so that every person with dementia, regardless of their age, can get the supports that they need to live as well and as independently as possible.

€19 million in new, recurring funding for dementia has been allocated over the past five budgets to implement the National Dementia Strategy and the Dementia Model of Care. This includes the establishment of Memory Assessment and Support Services, new and expanded Regional Specialist Memory Clinics and a National Intellectual Disability Memory Service to improve access to dementia diagnostic and post-diagnostic support services. Other post-diagnostic support services include the national Dementia Adviser service and the national network of Memory Technology Resource Rooms.

People with young onset dementia have the same access to all these services as those over 65. Many are diagnosed in Regional Specialist Memory Clinics due to the complexity of reaching a diagnosis, and there are four such Clinics in operation, two in Dublin and one each in Cork and Galway. 50-75% of people with intellectual disability and Down Syndrome are under 65, and a National Intellectual Disability Memory Service is operational in Tallaght University Hospital.

Since 2021, the Government has also prioritised the improvement of community-based services for people with dementia. This includes investment in dementia day care, day care at home and activity clubs for young onset dementia. The Government has allocated over €2.2 million in funding to day care centres operated by the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI), and there are 57 centres currently in operation. In addition, nearly €2.6 million has been allocated for the provision of dementia day care at home. Day care at home was first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic for people who for a variety of reasons cannot attend a day care centre.

People with young onset dementia can access dementia day care centres and dementia day care at home on the same basis as people over 65 with dementia. However, the Government recognises that people with young onset dementia may have difficulty fitting into existing dementia day care centre provision. For this reason, Budget 2024 funded the Alzheimer Society of Ireland to pilot activity clubs for young onset dementia, and this funding has been made recurring from 2025 onwards. The clubs provide an opportunity for people with young onset dementia to socialise together while engaging in activities that match their interests. There are now eight activity clubs in place around the country, with four additional clubs planned this year. It is important to note that day care, day care at home and activity clubs for young onset dementia also provide vital support to families, allowing them to have a break from caring and take time to look after their own health and well-being.

The 2025 Programme for Government includes eight dementia-specific commitments, one of which is a commitment to roll out more young onset dementia supports. In partnership with the HSE, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland and others, the Government will continue to build on the already substantial investment in dementia over the next five years to ensure that all people with dementia, including those with young onset dementia, together with their families, get the supports they need to live well at home for as long as possible, and have access to high quality residential care if required.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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569. To ask the Minister for Health to respond to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); if she will confirm that this funding application has been received; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22747/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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This has been referred to the HSE to answer, thanks.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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570. To ask the Minister for Health whether her Department has investigated the cost associated with enabling student health facilities to offer free blood tests and free prescriptions for hormones to trans and non-binary students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22779/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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571. To ask the Minister for Health whether her Department has investigated the costs associated with providing the student population with free HIV rapid testing and PrEP on-campus; if she intends to provide this service to students and the costs associated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22789/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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It is vital that those at risk of HIV infection are encouraged to access regular testing and preventive programmes such as PrEP and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). These measures, in addition to treatment as prevention (TasP), which aims to keep the viral loads of those with HIV infections at undetectable, and therefore untransmissible levels, are key elements towards achieving UN and WHO aims of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Europe by 2030 and supporting wider national and international commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

The potential to widen eligibility and access for HIV prevention, including PrEP and PEP delivery, testing, early diagnosis and treatment, through the public system, its partnerships and through primary care, will be considered under the new National Sexual Health Strategy.

The new Strategy also considers further measures to support sexual health in the further and higher education system, which can be described in more detail once the Strategy is approved and published. At present, student health services can access the free contraception scheme and National Condom Distribution Scheme, students can also access the free home STI testing service individually.

The new Strategy is at design stage and will be submitted to Government for approval shortly. Funding is in place already for expansion of capacity for PrEP within our network of STI clinics from July, 2025. The Department of Health and HSE Sexual Health Programme are also working together on plans to fulfil the commitments on HIV supports, including PrEP, in the Programme for Government, Securing Ireland's Future, 2025.

A national HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programme commenced in November 2019, following a HIQA HTA, which concluded that its introduction would be safe, effective, and cost saving. Free PrEP medication is available to individuals who meet clinical eligibility criteria, attending HSE approved PrEP services. These include public PrEP services, delivered through the public network of STI clinics, and some general practice (GP) services and private providers.

There are currently 13 approved public PrEP services, located in public STI clinics, and 17 private or general practitioner (GP) PrEP providers. Appointments at the 13 public PrEP services are free of charge, however, the private providers are subject to consultation charges.

The number of people eligible to access PrEP has been expanding since inception, with the number of individuals re-imbursed for PrEP at least once expanding from 1763 in 2020 to 4,419 users by the end of 2024. The population has grown significantly in recent years, and clinical criteria for PrEP eligibility have been widened, increasing the number of people eligible.

While the PrEP service continued to grow in 2023-2024, many PrEP services are reaching (or have reached) capacity and service users are reporting challenges accessing appointments. Additional work is required to understand the extent of the unmet need/demand for PrEP, which has been estimated as circa 30%.

In order to expand PrEP services and provide additional supports to our rapidly growing population, we have been allocated additional funding of €550,000, through Budget 2025, to further support delivery of the PrEP scheme, bringing the total allocation to €6.45m this year. This additional funding is comprised of €0.2m for additional PrEP drug costs, and €0.35m for additional staffing in the public STI clinics from July 2025, which will increase capacity for in-person appointments, once staff are in place.

An additional €600,000 has been allocated to support free home STI testing this year, given increasing demand for the service. Funding for home STI testing is €4.82m in 2025. Over 126,000 kits were ordered in 2024, with a return rate of 71% and with just under 10% of returned kits indicating reactive results.

In order to further increase capacity for PrEP, a number of additional measures have been deployed and are being developed, including administrative efficiencies, the use of telephone consultations and use of the free home STI testing scheme for routine tests. In order to increase the number of providers, a PrEP competency framework and eLearning platform has been developed; these can be accessed by GPs with an interest in providing PrEP, potentially including those who work within the further and higher education sector.