Written answer
Health Services
The Minister outlined expanded access, funding and capacity for Ireland’s HIV PrEP scheme, including public clinics, private providers and planned community and digital services. The HSE was asked to respond directly on whether samples from approved private PrEP providers may be processed in public laboratories.
1407. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Health to clarify if the processing of samples from sites which hold a HSE contract (details supplied) is permitted in public laboratories. [65525/26]
Comment on this
The HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) scheme is available to people ordinarily resident in Ireland who are deemed at risk of HIV and likely to benefit clinically from its prevention.
PrEP can be accessed through 14 public PrEP clinics or through approved GPs and other private PrEP providers; more details are available on the HSE website: www2.hse.ie/conditions/hiv/about-prep/
Contact details for all PrEP providers are available on the HSE website: www2.hse.ie/conditions/hiv/where-to-get-prep/
Appointments at the 14 public PrEP services are free of charge, however, the private providers charge for consultations and related services. PrEP medication is free of charge to anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland with a Drugs Payment, Long-Term Illness or General Medical Scheme (GMS) card, also known as a medical card. To note, the Drugs Payment scheme is open to anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland (a PPS number is needed for application). More details on how to apply for the DPS, LTI or GMS cards are available on the HSE website.
The population has grown significantly in recent years, and clinical criteria for PrEP eligibility have been widened, increasing the number of people eligible for PrEP.
In order to expand PrEP services and provide additional supports to our rapidly growing population, we were allocated additional funding of €550,000, through Budget 2025, and an additional €100,000 in 2026, to further support delivery of the PrEP scheme. The total allocation for PrEP has therefore increased to €6.55m in 2026.
The 2025 allocation included funding for 7WTE to increase capacity for in-person appointments within the PrEP clinics, with all staff in place by October, 2025. In order to further 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. Following the introduction of training, provider numbers have increased substantially (please see the above weblink for contact details).
Further supports for capacity include use of the free home STI testing service for some routine testing. The PrEPtimise Study, a HRB funded Evidence for Policy grant, led by researchers and clinicians based in TCD and in St James’s Hospital GUIDE clinic, is looking at the use of a hybrid model for an integrated digital-hybrid clinical service to deliver PrEP, as a way to increase functional capacity. Interim findings indicate that the research is going well.
The National Sexual Health Strategy, 2025-2035 (NSHS) and National Sexual Health Action Plan, 2025-2038 (NSHAP), commit to developing Models of Care for sexual health and for HIV, to develop an HIV Action Plan and to expand community options for the delivery of PrEP, including widening access through primary care and exploring digital options. The Models of Care and HIV Action Plan will examine geographic equity, also taking into account the new HSE regional structure, and include more details on supports for HIV prevention, diagnosis, care and supports, including PrEP.
The NSHS and NSHAP (included in one document) can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/healthy-ireland/policy-information/national-sexual-health-strategy-2025-2035/ .
With regard to the processing of samples related to the provision of PrEP services from approved private PrEP providers through public laboratories, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy, as soon as possible.