Medicinal Products
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny

As the Senator noted earlier, the HPRA is open to review any applications from a marketing authorisation holder to change the prescription status of melatonin to non-prescription status. That is the first point of call that we need to look. Additionally, the Government recognises that menopause is a key health issue for women in Ireland today. The Senator also referred to neurodivergent children and people with ADHD, which is important to highlight. Much work has been done to drive progress in this area by the women's health task force and the women's health action plans that we are working on. To support women through their menopause journey we have significantly enhanced the supports available to them. As the Senator said, six specialist menopause clinics have been invested in since 2025. These have had their opening hours extended.
Since 1 June 2025, free HRT has been provided to women experiencing menopause. This is available where it has been prescribed to a woman by a healthcare provider for the purpose of alleviating the symptoms associated with all stages of menopause. We definitely need to go back to the Department and follow this up. As the Senator said, this was brought up last year in the Dáil. The Senator is right that we need to work on this to see how we can bring it further. I thank her again for highlighting this really important issue.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26