\n<\/p>\n
Oireachtas Health Committee hears how 800 people are waiting to access HIV PrEP treatment, with some facing delays of up to one year<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
A service providing preventative treatment for people at risk of contracting HIV received just one-quarter of the additional staff it said it needs to carry out its work, the Oireachtas Health Committee has heard.<\/p>\n
Prof Fiona Lyons<\/strong>, national clinical lead for the HSE\u2019s Sexual Health Programme, said that in 2025 her team requested 28 additional staff to help provide HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication to people around the country. Currently there are around 800 people waiting to access Prep, with delays of between nine and 12 months recorded in some areas.<\/p>\n However, last year funding for just seven additional staff was provided to address delays in the service. Prof Lyons added that, for the 2026 HSE Service Plan, the PrEP programme was \u2018not invited\u2019 to make a submission outlining its staffing needs.<\/p>\n Health Committee chair and Social Democrats TD P\u00e1draig Rice highlighted how Ireland is unlikely to achieve a goal of ending new HIV transmissions by 2030.<\/p>\n In 2024 the number of first-time diagnoses of HIV in Ireland exceeded 200 last year for the first time since the pandemic, while the number of cases overall here is, per capita, the second highest in Europe.<\/p>\n Last year Ireland published an updated National Sexual Health Strategy 2025-2035. It commits to developing a HIV action plan and model of care.<\/p>\n Prof Lyons said that plans are in place to publish the model of care by the end of July and a survey is underway to identify resources and staffing it will need to be fully implemented.<\/p>\n However, in response to questions from Sinn F\u00e9in health spokesman David Cullinane, she said that her team \u2018won\u2019t be waiting for the model of care to address the inequity of access to the prep services\u2019. Currently ten counties, including the TD\u2019s constituency of Waterford, have no local PrEP service.<\/p>\n \u201cWe developed a prep program in 2019 and the HSE completely acknowledges that the absence of a PrEP service in Waterford is completely unacceptable,\u201d Prof Lyons added.<\/p>\n Adam Shanley of the School of Medicine, Trinity College, told the Committee that access to PrEP \u2018remains uneven. \u201cPeople outside major urban centres often face additional barriers. Some clinics are operating at capacity, leading to waiting lists and unclear pathways of access,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n P\u00e1draig Burke of the Gay Health Network said that long waits for access to the medication \u2018are not just an inconvenience; they are a missed prevention opportunity\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cAccess to STI testing and sexual health care should not depend on where someone lives, yet it remains frustratingly uneven,\u201d he added. Outside major urban centres, particularly in the Midlands, the West and the North-West, there are clear gaps. A person\u2019s ability to protect their sexual health should not be dictated by their Eircode\u201d<\/p>\n CEO of the Sexual Health Centre in Cork, Fiona Finn, called for a more integrated approach to sexual health services, including the development of community-based, \u2018one-stop-shop\u2019 services, where people can access a wide range of sexual healthcare in a single setting.<\/p>\n The meeting heard how access to gender-affirming care remains \u2018significantly underdeveloped\u2019, with some trans people waiting more than 10 years to access services.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are clearly failing our trans community,\u201d Ms Finn said. \u201cMany must seek care abroad, or outside formal pathways, increasing inequality. At present, general practitioners are not adequately supported to provide gender affirming care.\u201d<\/p>\n The World Health Organisation recommends that trans healthcare falls under the realm of sexual health in national health systems \u2013 this is not the case under the HSE.<\/p>\n Prof Lyons said that she agreed with the WHO recommendation, while Deputy Rice said that he believes there would be fewer barriers to access and a more inclusive system if trans healthcare came under the HSE\u2019s Sexual Health Programme.<\/p>\n