546. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health whether she will provide increased, ring-fenced investment for women’s healthcare in budget 2027 to address longstanding gaps in the provision of services across the health system, including preventative care, diagnostics, gynaecology, reproductive health, menopause care, chronic pain services, and community-based supports; the level of additional funding being considered; the priority areas for investment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54539/26]

Underscoring the Government’s commitment to Women’s Health has been the investment of dedicated additional funding of over €180 million since 2020. This dedicated funding has resulted in new and often first-of-their-kind initiatives across the country The Women’s Health Fund was established in 2021 to support the implementation of priority actions identified by the Women’s Health Taskforce and outlined in the Women’s Health Action Plans. It has invested in over 100 initiatives to date and will continue to support the implementation of this Women’s Health Action Plan.

The Women’s Health Action Plan 2022-23 was published in March 2022, marking International Women’s Day. The Action Plan identified key actions to improve health outcomes and experiences for women in Ireland. It provided the foundation to address women’s health as a whole and helped to ensure that women’s health is viewed beyond reproductive health in order to make a real difference to women’s lives.

The Women’s Health Action Plan 2024-2025 Phase 2: An Evolution in Women’s Health was published in April 2024. This Action Plan represents the next phase in women's health. It continues to embed and build on the significant work completed under the previous Women’s Health Action Plan 2022-2023, as well as having a focus on new and innovative developments. The Action Plan also has a specific spotlight on women at midlife and older and marginalised women

The Women’s Health Action plan 2026-2027: Phase 3  was published 8th July 2026, seeks to continue to embed and upscale women’s health initiatives put in place by the previous two Action Plans, build on our knowledge of women’s health through research and innovation and spotlight key areas including endometriosis and cardiovascular disease. Many of the actions within this plan have been initiated via funding from the 2026 budgetary process.

In addition to embedding the initiatives introduced over the past four years, some of the developments which will take place in the lifetime of this action plan are set out below.

The Women’s Health Action Plan 2026-27 (Phase 3) outlines key actions which include:

• A focus and investment in research, evidence, data collection and innovation, including €2million in ringfenced funding for women’s health research for 2026 and 2027.

• Enhanced access to proactive and preventative healthcare to support a better quality of life e.g. screening, early detection and prevention of cardiovascular disease in young women and exploration of a Women’s Health Programme in General Practice.

• Embedding and upscaling women’s health initiatives put in place through the implementation of the Women’s Health Action Plans 1 & 2 (Free Contraception Scheme, Specialist Menopause Clinics, Mental Health Services, Ambulatory Gynaecology Clinics, Postnatal Hubs).

• We will continue the expansion programme for Ambulatory Gynaecology Clinics.

• We will extend the range of services offered in the Specialist Menopause Clinics.

• Expansion of the free period products scheme to new locations.

• Increase the number of Postnatal Hubs nationally to 13 by establishing 4 more hubs in Waterford, Limerick, Cavan and Letterkenny in 2026.

• Promotion of social inclusion, connectedness and equity to improve experiences of marginalised groups of women.

• We will target awareness, education and signposting of women’s health conditions and services.

• We will spotlight key areas that women and girls have asked us to prioritise, including endometriosis and cultural and gender sensitivity awareness for healthcare professionals.

• Initiatives to promote and develop the delivery of women’s health services through local pharmacies.

• We will support the implementation of new and ongoing initiatives and technologies to enhance the BreastCheck service.

• We will continue to progress, in line with policy objectives, the further development of the Model of Care for Fertility and publicly funded Assisted Human Reproduction treatment and services, including the full operationalisation of the first public Assisted Human Reproduction Centre in Cork

This Government is committed to Progressing and Promoting Women’s Health through targeted funding via the Women’s Health Fund and implementation of the Women’s Health Action Plan 2026-2027.