From Department of Health
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Today, Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, and Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Frank Feighan, visited the Irish Family Planning Association clinic in Cathal Brugha St. to mark #WomensHealthWeek.
The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) is one of Ireland’s leading sexual and reproductive health charities, founded in 1969 by a group of volunteers, mostly young nurses, and doctors, motivated by the negative health impacts of the ban on contraception in place at the time.
Today, the IFPA clinics in Tallaght and Cathal Brugha St are key elements of wider reproductive healthcare in Ireland, offering a range of services, including contraception, pregnancy counselling, abortion care, cervical screening, STI testing and treatment, an FGM clinic, wider sexual and reproductive health services, and training.
The Minister for Health said:
"It is fantastic to have this opportunity during Women’s Health Week to see the progress that has been made in delivering sexual and reproductive healthcare in Ireland over the past 50 years. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the IFPA for all its work on supporting women’s health, in collaboration with the HSE and wider health service. The IFPA is a key stakeholder as we roll out wider access to contraception later this year."
The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy said:
"I would like to congratulate the IFPA for their positive contributions to sexual healthcare in Ireland. This is particularly vital now - STI rates have been rising recently, both nationally and internationally. In response, we have been able to invest an additional €3.3 million in online STI testing and other projects that support sexual health. I continue to encourage people to come forward and get tested if they feel they are at risk - early treatment is vital to protect everyone’s health."
Welcoming the Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly and Minister of State for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Frank Feighan , Dr Caitríona Henchion, Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) Medical Director said:
"25 years ago, when I started with the IFPA, contraception was available, but not universally accessible, abortion was illegal and STIs were stigmatised.
"The progress since then on sexual and reproductive health and rights has been transformative. Today we sat with the Minister for Health and the Minister of State; we discussed the government’s new free contraception scheme and its expansion, and the importance of abortion access within women’s healthcare.
"We look forward to continued collaboration with the HSE and the Department of Health towards more equitable and person-centred sexual and reproductive health and rights for all."
The visit is one of a number of significant events held to mark Women’s Health Week and International Women’s Day on 8 March 2022.
This week, Minister Donnelly launched the Women’s Health Action Plan 2022-2023, which was developed by the Department of Health in partnership with the HSE, the National Women and Infants Health Programme, the European Institute for Women’s Health, the Irish College of General Practitioners, and the National Women’s Council of Ireland through the work of the Women’s Health Taskforce. The Women’s Health Action Plan is the first of many, and a milestone in the ongoing evolution of women’s health in Ireland.
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has launched the Women's Health Action Plan 2022 – 2023. This Plan focuses on improving health outcomes for women in Ireland.
Members of the Taskforce include the Department of Health, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Inclusion, and Youth, the Health Service Executive, the National Women and Infants Health Programme, the Institute for Public Health, the European Institute for Women’s Health, the Irish College of General Practitioners, and the National Women’s Council Ireland.
More information is available at: www.gov.ie/womenshealth