Health Procurement: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-29
============================================================

Nicole Ryan (SF), Administrative Panel

I welcome the Minister. It is good to see her here.
I welcome this motion and thank the Senators who brought it forward. Sinn Féin supports this motion because genomics is not some abstract or future-facing concept. It is already central to modernised healthcare from diagnostics to personalised medicine to population health planning. If we are serious about delivering better outcomes for patients, genomics and genetic testing must move from the margins of our system to the mainstream.
Ireland sends approximately 20,000 genetic tests abroad every year to different countries. This reliance brings with it high shipping costs, long turnover times, fragmented delivery models and, in some cases, testing laboratories that are not EU accredited. This is not efficient, sustainable or patient centred. We all know that time matters, and delays in genetic testing can mean delayed diagnoses, delayed treatment decisions, longer hospital stays and, in some cases, poor outcomes. This is particularly true in oncology where genetic profiling can determine whether a patient will respond to a specific therapy and in rare diseases where genomic sequencing can be the difference between years of uncertainty and finally having a diagnosis. I highlight Senator Costello's work on rare diseases. She has championed this issue and were it not for her, I would not know how to pronounce "givinostat". The absence of timely genetic testing is not an inconvenience; it is life-altering.
The motion also rightly highlights the issue of data protection. Genomics data is almost the most sensitive personal data that exists. When we send the tests overseas, we lose a degree of control over how the data may be stored, governed or protected. By building domestic capacity, Ireland can uphold the highest standards of data governance and patient privacy, something that should be non-negotiable. The motion urges the Government to develop a co-ordinated national plan to achieve 50% in-country genomic testing by 2030. This is a reasonable, measured and achievable ambition but it is only achievable if it is backed by the right investment. The HSE has a genomics strategy that is referenced all of the time but strategies do not build laboratories, purchase sequencing equipment or recruit and retain the highly skilled staff who are needed. If genomics is to be routine and mainstream, the State must properly fund the laboratory services, equipment and workforce needed to deliver it.
Sinn Féin supports this motion because it is grounded in patient outcomes, value for money and data protection. We also want to be clear that it requires political will, proper procurement reform and sustained capital investment. Patients with cancer, people living with rare and inherited conditions and families waiting years for answers cannot afford another delay. Words matter but delivery also matters and this is an area where Ireland can and should do better. The Government must move to acknowledge that action.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29