Thomas Gould
Question:752. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Health the status of the Sexual Health Strategy; and the timeline for publication [11515/22]
View answerTuesday, 1 March 2022
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Written answers
The National Sexual Health Strategy, 2015-2020 was launched in October 2015. It takes a life course approach, acknowledging the importance of developing a healthy attitude to sexuality in young people and of building on that foundation for positive sexual health and wellbeing into adulthood and older age.
Current priority deliverables under the Strategy are HIV prevention, including the continued expansion of a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) programme, which commenced in late 2019, and the HIV Fast Track Cities programme, involving Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.
Other key areas of work include expanding access to contraception, free of charge, through the National Condom Distribution Service; expanding sexually transmitted infection (STI) services, progressing a population survey on sexual health and improving sexual health education, training and resources, including in schools, higher and further education.
A review of the Strategy began in 2021, having been postponed as a result of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Focus group meetings were held with key stakeholders, including clinical and public health staff, the Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme team, those working in the STI clinics, the education sector, the Department of Health and Women’s Health Taskforce, the research and academic sector and organisations representing the LGBTI+ community.
The detailed feedback from these meetings has been collated and will inform the future direction of the next iteration of the strategy. An external review of the Strategy has been approved and will progress, following a standard procurement process. Once the results of the Review are available, drafting of a refreshed version of the Strategy will commence in Q3, 2022 with completion of the Strategy envisaged in Q4, 2022