118. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the date on which she will publish the new national sexual health strategy; the reason for the continued delay in doing so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24091/25]
Sentiment score: -0.10
It is ten years since the first sexual health strategy was published. That strategy expired three years ago and has still not been replaced. I raised this issue two months ago in the Dáil and was told it would be launched quite soon. Is the strategy still at design stage or has it been submitted to the Government for approval?
Sentiment score: 0.15
It is great news that the strategy will be launched. I am looking forward to engaging with it and seeing the detail. When I raised this issue last time, the Minister of State talked about how stigma is a big issue and I agree with her on that. Services are also really important, however, and I think we can reduce stigma by having better services and supports for people. We need to make sexual health services everyday, normal and accessible throughout the country. There are currently ten counties in Ireland with no sexual health services. I am surprised this issue is not raised by Deputies across the Dáil, demanding services in their communities. Many of us need access to better sexual health services and it should be an important issue for people. We can also reduce stigma by having public awareness campaigns and challenging negative stereotypes, similar to mental health. We also need better sexual education. This needs leadership, investment and support because this issue has been neglected for far too long.
Sentiment score: 0.20
We have huge innovations in the area of HIV - on PrEP, PEP and rapid testing - but I think we are not seizing the moment here. We could potentially end HIV transmissions in this country if we massively invested in this. People are waiting far too long to get access to PrEP clinics. There is a real chance here to have a game-changing moment, and I urge the Minister of State to seize that and increase the investment and access to services. On the online testing, it is fine if people do not have symptoms, but people with symptoms need to go to clinics and need to have clinics in their communities they can access. It is all well and good having access to online tests you can order and do at home, but that does not work for everybody, especially those who have infections. That is why we need those better services in the communities, and we need to spend more money than we are currently.
Sentiment score: 0.23
123. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the programme for Government commitment to design a statutory home care scheme, the timeline she is working towards, and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24093/25]
Sentiment score: 0.24
My question concerns the statutory right to home care. In 2017, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, said home care needed to be placed on a statutory footing. The same year, the then Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy Helen McEntee, said a statutory right to home care and necessary regulations would be delivered in two to three years. Eight years on, they remain underdelivered. We know the regulations are finally progressing but what is happening with the statutory scheme? Will the Minister of State provide me with an update on the programme for Government commitment to design a statutory home care scheme and the timelines he is working towards?
Sentiment score: 0.36
It has been a year since the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, told the Oireachtas Committee on Health that the delay was due to the funding model. At the time, the Minister of State said the nut had not been cracked on financing the scheme. In February 2025, the Minister for Health told me no final decision on future funding had been made and that further research was under way to enhance the evidence base. Is this still the case? It has been eight years and the Department should have figured it out by now. Political will is needed to get this over the line. What happened to the promise in the wake of the pandemic that an entirely different model of elder care would be provided? The regulations are important but only a statutory right to home care has the potential to deliver a radically different model. It is the most crucial part of the broader reform programme.
Sentiment score: 0.08
I know that.
Sentiment score: 0.00
It is taking far too long. The Social Democrats have concerns about the financialisation of elder care. In 2020, at the height of Covid, Simon Harris and Leo Varadkar said the model of care for older people had to change. Since then, the very large-scale commercial nursing home model has increased despite the fact it was deemed to be no longer fit for purpose. Ireland, alongside England, now has the most privatised nursing home system in Europe, with 81% of all nursing home beds in the State being privately run. Of even greater concern is the fact that very large investment funds now hold one third of all nursing home beds in the State. Eight years ago, those firms had virtually no presence here. While successive Ministers have delayed on the statutory right to home care, private equity providers and real estate investment funds have moved in. How many more of these nursing homes will be allowed before an alternative is put in place? I know the Government accepts that older people should be supported to stay in their homes but this rhetoric must be matched with more action. Expensive private nursing homes cannot be the default option for people. People deserve a right to home care and we need to put the regulations and that statutory right in place.
Sentiment score: 0.23