Women's Health
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-04
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Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (FG), Dún Laoghaire

As this is an internationally accredited list, we would simply use the list because we can stand over it both legally and from a clinical perspective. Those clinicians mentioned by the Senator should speak to the clinical director, Dr. Cliona Murphy, about this matter.
We also have tried to expand the surgical options here. I demanded a programme of an additional 100 surgeries be done in quarter 4 of 2025 using every tool that we could among our maternity hospitals. I am pleased to say that we got 142 extra surgeries within our own system. That shows we really are trying to make progress in this regard.
The Senator is right to highlight obstetric training for GPs and it is very important. As for fertility, that is a different scheme and I am expanding it as best I can. I am certainly very alive to the concerns of endometriosis patients.
As for the drug mentioned by the Senator, as she will be aware, we have a drug assessment process operated through the HSE and I leave value-for-money analysis and health technology assessments, HTAs, to it. We must also ensure that the applications are made. This matter is more complex than simply me deciding.
We are trying in every possible way that we can to change the dial in terms of how endometriosis is understood. Bernard Gloster and I wrote to every GP in the country to highlight both how common endometriosis is and the presumptive diagnosis pathway. We are trying to upskill and train. We have hired an additional colorectal surgeon to work in a multisystem way alongside obstetric surgeons to make sure that we have the personnel to perform more complex surgeries here.
As I said, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, which includes the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, will host a day dedicated to endometriosis. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland is also leaning into it. We are developing treatment and long-term fellowships abroad in order that we have a much better standard of surgery here.
Yes, a two-year scheme is challenging. Are we going to meet that clinical need within that period? It is a race to do so but we are trying to pull every lever we can to deliver a much better service for endometriosis patents. I also recognise what the Senator said about pain and pain management. Again, there is a huge spectrum. The clinical guidance includes paracetamol. While I know women who take paracetamol for pain relief and that is fine for them, paracetamol is absolutely not enough for very many endometriosis sufferers who have felt patronised in the extreme by being told that taking paracetamol is the solution for them.
It might be the solution for one woman but it is not the solution for every woman and we have not reached a solution in relation to pain management for the more complex and severe cases of endometriosis.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-04