The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, TD, has welcomed what he has called a ‘significant additional investment’ announced in Budget 2022 in support of women’s health.
The additional €31 million provides a foundation for a fully-funded action programme on women’s health in 2022. The action plan will focus on improving the foundations for women’s health by investing in policy implementation; tackling the issues that women have said they want to see improved; and funding innovative new approaches to women’s health.
Budget 2022 will:
- Invest almost €9 million additional funding to ensure continued implementation of the National Maternity Strategy into 2022 and beyond, building on the significant investment in 2021;
- Continue improvements in gynaecology services by establishing a further six ambulatory gynaecology ‘see and treat’ clinics, bringing the total to 20 clinics nationally;
- Invest almost €9 million to fund access to contraception for women aged 17-25;
- Invest an additional €5 million into the Women’s Health Fund to fund innovative new approaches to women’s health services nationwide;
- Support further developments in menopause care by increasing the number of specialist menopause clinics from one clinic to four clinics nationally;
- Increase investment in sexual assault treatment units;
- Invest in tackling period poverty for the first time; and
- Build on initiatives started in 2021, by further expanding specialist endometriosis services for more complex cases across two centres.
“This investment demonstrates the Government’s commitment to listen to women and respond with action. Through the work of the Women’s Health Taskforce, women have told us where they want to see change. This budget reflects this through a major increase in investment in women’s health, and targeted funding in key areas like menopause, maternity care and mental health,†the Minister said.
