Social Democrats health spokesperson P\u00e1draig Rice TD has called on the Minister for Health to publish the long-awaited sexual health strategy for Ireland.<\/p>\n
Deputy Rice, who raised this issue in the D\u00e1il today, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland currently has no sexual health strategy. We have been without a comprehensive plan or vision for sexual health services since 2022, when the last strategy expired. As a result, sexual health services are thin on the ground and starved of funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, the Minister of State for Public Health said the strategy will be published soon, but we\u2019ve heard all that before. Every previous target has been missed, and it has been two years since an independent review of the strategy was published.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need better access to in-person STI testing and support. At the moment there are 10 counties with no STI clinics, and in some counties clinics are only open once per fortnight. At the same time, we know that in 2023 sexually transmitted infections increased by 31 per cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rollout of free at-home STI testing has been welcome, but this must not be seen as a replacement for in-person services. At-home testing is not suitable for everyone, including the digitally excluded and those with lower literacy and language skills. It is also no use to anyone with symptoms, who are most in need of swift access.<\/p>\n
\u201cPre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a potential game changer in reducing HIV transmission, but it can take up to 18 months to be seen in some parts of the country. One clinic in Dublin has over 1,000 people on its waiting list, while in Cork it has taken the HSE a year and a half to replace a nurse specialist in a PrEP clinic. This is not good enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the UK there are walk-in clinics with same day screening. We should have similar services here and I hope the new strategy will address the real deficiencies in sexual health services.\u201d<\/p>\n
March 6, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social Democrats health spokesperson P\u00e1draig Rice TD has called on the Minister for Health to publish the long-awaited sexual health strategy for Ireland. Deputy Rice, who raised this issue in the D\u00e1il today, said: \u201cIreland currently has no sexual health strategy. We have been without a comprehensive plan or vision for sexual health services since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,642,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-padraig-rice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n