Medicinal Products
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Christopher O'Sullivan (FF), Cork South-West

I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of endometriosis. It is something that for too long we have not spoken about. There still is not enough awareness of what it is and the challenges and difficulties that women across Ireland face when they have this condition. There are women across Ireland living in severe pain because of endometriosis. There are woman across Ireland who experience heavy bleeding. There are women who have to undertake serious surgery to treat endometriosis, which is very painful and has a long recovery time.
There are couples right across Ireland who, because of endometriosis, are facing incredible challenges with reproduction. These are all things that for far too long we have not spoken enough about publicly. We have not raised enough awareness about it. I am really heartened that Deputy Burke has raised the issue here today and that women right across Ireland are speaking out about it and about the necessity to treat it and, more important, to get access for women to treat this condition. That is the most important point. I commend the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on tackling this issue head-on and putting it front and centre as something she wants to address. I just wanted to say that at the outset.
In 2025 and earlier this year, the Minister engaged directly with women on a one-to-one basis through the patient voice forum and listened to their personal experiences of endometriosis. The national framework for the management of endometriosis in Ireland was published in October 2025. This marks a milestone in the evolution of women's healthcare in Ireland. The framework establishes, for the first time, a defined clinical care pathway for women and girls living with endometriosis. In conjunction with this framework, the Minister has written to all GPs, consultants and other clinicians to raise awareness of endometriosis in their clinical assessments. Moreover, the expansion of endometriosis services provided in Ireland is supported through the HSE's national service plan.
Regarding Ryeqo, I will provide some background for our colleagues and then address Deputy Burke's question. Relugolix, estradiol and norethisterone acetate, marketed under the trade name Ryeqo, is a medicine used for the symptomatic treatment of endometriosis in women of reproductive age with a history of medical or surgical treatment for their endometriosis.
The European Medicines Agency, EMA, granted marketing authorisation for this product in July 2021. The company marketing this medicine made an application for addition to the HSE's reimbursement list in May 2024. The HSE has statutory responsibility for medicine pricing and reimbursement decisions. HSE decisions on which medicines are reimbursed are made on objective, scientific and economic grounds on the advice of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, NCPE. Formal processes govern applications for the pricing and reimbursement of medicines, and new uses of existing medicines, to be funded or reimbursed. The HSE commissioned a health technology assessment, HTA, in July 2024. Just under a year later, in July 2025, the applicant submitted a full HTA dossier to the NCPE. Further engagement between the NCPE and the applicant has taken place in the interim, and the application remains under consideration. The HSE cannot make any comment on possible outcomes from the ongoing process.
The Deputy can see from those milestones that it took considerable time for the State to receive the necessary dossier. We cannot progress reimbursement applications without timely engagement. We strongly encourage all pharmaceutical companies to apply for reimbursement here in Ireland and to submit fully prepared HTA dossiers in a timely fashion.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-25