Healthcare Policy
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (FG), Dún Laoghaire

I thank both Deputies. It is wonderful that so many other Deputies have joined us to hear that lipoedema affects 11% of women. It is a serious chronic disease and, as with many other conditions for women, we have to think carefully about the research available. Yesterday, we launched the third iteration of the women's health action plan. In that we talk about so many conditions that present differently for women. For example, heart failure in women has different symptoms, has been under-researched and under-diagnosed and treatment outcomes have not been as good because of that.
We put €2 million in funding this year specifically into women's health research, precisely to identify areas that have been under-researched. Many colleagues here have talked about endometriosis. Lipoedema is just as important. It affects 10% or 11% of women and the impact on lymphedema - the crossover that can happen - is also a significant risk with serious health implications.
Women's health has been under-researched and under-diagnosed and there has been a bias in research against understanding women's health as something distinct, important and separate from health generally. We have seen that consistently in the research. It is important we take the opportunity to consider the most contemporary research on lipoedema and that it has the opportunity to feed in at every level. I will discuss it with the chief clinical officer to make sure we have all the best evidence about this condition.
Like the Deputies, I know women with lipoedema. There are many of them. Like the Deputies, I want to advocate loudly for women's health generally. I thank them for joining us at the women's health action plan launch yesterday. We must continue to advocate separately and differently against the bias that has existed against women's health and women's health research for so long. I thank Deputies Sherlock and O'Connell for raising the important issue of lipoedema in front of all Deputies today.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09