Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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186. To ask the Minister for Health the action she is taking to improve stroke care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63884/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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This government is fully committed to supporting improvements and advances in stroke services and will build on the €13.5m in funding allocated to the HSE National Stroke Strategy since its publication in 2022.

The Strategy aims to modernise and reform stroke services in line with Sláintecare policy and address the challenges facing Ireland from population ageing and the predicted increase in the total number of strokes right across Europe, including Ireland. The strategy provides a blueprint for investment in stroke services over the five-year period from 2022 to 2027 and is based on a required overall investment of approximately €37m.

The funding allocated to the National Stroke Strategy to date has enabled significant new developments which improve care and support for stroke survivors such as:

• The expansion of the GP Contract to include opportunistic case finding of High Blood Pressure for those with a GMS/GP visit card. This contract is now in place, and the service commenced in Q1 2024. This measure initially applied to over 45-year-olds but has now been expanded to include those 18 years and over and is an important preventive measure to curb the expected rise in stroke cases over the next two decades.
• The recruitment of 12 posts in 2023, to support acute stroke units, endovascular thrombectomy centres and the expansion of Early Supported Discharge (ESD) teams in the community from 6 to 11 teams. Our target is 21 ESD teams nationally. It is envisaged that 15 teams will be operational by end 2025.
• Endovascular Thrombectomy (EVT) is the gold standard of treatment for stroke caused by occlusion of large brain blood vessels 15-20% of strokes are eligible for EVT. There are two EVT sites in Ireland, one in Beaumont and one at CUH.
• EVT rates are around 10% in Ireland nearly three times the rate reported in the UK, reflecting Ireland’s success in this area.
• Bespoke projects in secondary prevention and rehabilitation, carried out by the Cork Stroke Support Centre and Croí have also been funded. These align with relevant areas in the strategy as well as providing support to survivors in remote regions of the country.
• On September 9th, 2025, the HSE launched a new national TV, radio and digital campaign called ‘Every Second Counts’. The campaign reinforces knowledge and understanding of stroke symptoms while focusing on the importance of contacting emergency services immediately when a stroke is suspected. It is envisaged that this measure will increase the number of people attending emergency Departments within the crucial 4.5 hour window for the most effective treatments and the impact of the campaign will be measured by the national stroke audit.