Gino Kenny presses for action on women's health task force funding

Minister, my question is in relation to the women's task force which was set up last September and I suppose the crux of my question is that what actions will it hazard taking and will it take over the next three years? Thanks a million. I was delighted to see this question come in Deputy and I absolutely share your view that this is a priority. Progressing women's health is a priority for me and for this government. We made a strong commitment to promoting women's health in the programme for government and I am very pleased to say that Budget 2021 provides a really significant investment to deliver on this commitment. It is something I have been pushing very hard for so if I could just share with you. I have allocated funding of €12 million to ensure the renewed impetus in the implementation of the national maternity strategy and the new model of maternity care and to improve gynaecology services as well. I have allocated funding of €10 million to strengthen screening services including breast check and cervical check and building on the work of the women's health task force directly to your question. I have allocated an additional €5 million to the women's health task force to the women's health fund to improve outcomes. Women have specific physical, mental and social health needs and experience poorer health outcomes relating to certain conditions including some chronic conditions, cancers and mental health conditions. Women's health outcomes and experiences are also affected by their roles in the family and society and wider circumstances. For example, more than 60% of unpaid carers are women which means they often access services on behalf of others. The women's health task force was established in September 2019 to improve health outcomes and experience of healthcare for women and girls. It builds on recent programmes in women's health including the implementation of the maternity strategy, sexual health strategy, establishment of a national MESH specialist centre, improvements in screening services, improvements in sexual assault services, introduction of the termination of pregnancy services, the role out of the maternal and newborn clinical management system as well as the development of new models of care for ambulatory, gynecology and infertility. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Minister. That is very welcome. I think the Women's Health Task Force has been very welcome because in the past healthcare has been very patriarchal and it has let down women on many occasions. It has to be addressed in relation to women's healthcare in Ireland. It is a bit ironic that the reason why there is a women's health task force is because of one of the recommendations from the scoping inquiry into the cervical screening programme where women were completely let down. I think you should take that in relation to the tribune that is going to be served very soon. Just one of the issues in relation to the gynecological health. What areas will that address, particularly around endometeosis? One in ten women suffer from that condition and it takes up to nine years sometimes for a diagnosis. Thank you, Deputy. Thank you, Deputy. It is not lost to me that we have two men in Parliament here discussing the future of women's healthcare, but it absolutely has to be pushed and funded. Like, maybe I am wrong, but I do not believe if men have babies that Hollis Street would have the level of investment it does, or that the Coombe does, or that the Rotunda does, or that the other maternity services around the country do. I believe they would be in state of the art, brand new, custom built, beautiful buildings. And they are not. And it is not good enough. And it is not good enough that crisis after crisis that we discuss in here is to do with women's health, and women's reproductive health, be it mother and baby homes, or cervical check, or symphysiotomy. It is always the same. So, with regard to the specific issues, there is a lot of new funding in place. You asked what exactly the task force has been doing and what it intends to do. I will provide you the rest of the written answer. I am out of time, Deputy. But there is a lot of really good work going on. The task force has done a huge amount of work. Thank you, Mr Deputy. And hopefully there will be some quite exciting things coming in the next years. Thanks, Minister. And obviously one of the mantras that it says in the task force is that it will do radical listening to women's health. And I think that is welcome. Because I think at the heart of women's health should be women making that decision and should be listened to. Because that has been the problem over the past. Just on an issue, Minister, in relation to COVID-19, obviously it has taken a huge effect on everybody's, regardless of your gender. But in relation to, because I know one of the issues that I wanted to address, it was mental health for women. And obviously COVID-19 has made, has done a huge amount of damage socially and physically and mentally. What kind of ways will the task force address COVID-19 and the effects of it? Thanks, Deputy. To be honest, the task force is focused on women's health and building capacity within the system for women's health, including mental health. But not in response to COVID. So in response to COVID, Minister Butler, Mary Butler is leading on a lot of initiatives. There's funding that went in parallel with the winter plan. There was a wellness initiative actually we just launched last week. And as you say, there has been a huge increase in the calls and the texts to the support lines. And although the data, thankfully to date, we don't have the most up to date, but the data we have is that the rates of suicide, the rates of self-harm have not gone up. However, more recent data may change that, but certainly the ask for help from people from right across the country has gone up. The task force rather is, as you say, it is engaged with over a thousand people and organisations representing women and girls across the country. They've done this listening exercise, and I'm happy to share some of that with the deputy, maybe in writing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.