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Seanad Éireann · 2026-02-19

Healthcare Policy

FF Jennifer Murnane O'Connor · Carlow-Kilkenny · Minister of State at the Department of Health

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Summary of this debate

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We need a safe hearts plan and a cardiovascular disease strategy. Ireland has made progress in tackling cardiovascular disease. Irish officials, working closely with EU colleagues, contributed to the development of a new Council conclusion on the improvement of cardiovascular health, adopted on 3 December 2024, marking a strong political commitment to tackling cardiovascular disease across Europe.

Cardiovascular health was prioritised in budget 2025, which allocated over €9 million in full-year funding to support vital cardiovascular initiatives. The plan offers an opportunity for the EU to strengthen strategies for prevention of cardiovascular disease. This will support delivery of our programme for Government commitment to develop a national cardiovascular strategy that seeks to address and identify gaps in research, prevention, treatment and access to cardiovascular care.

Built by scoring every sentence in the debate on how distinctive its language is, then quoting the highest-scoring ones back word for word and in the order spoken. Nothing is paraphrased or invented — if a sentence appears here, it was said in the chamber. Drawn from 750 words across 4 contributions by 2 speakers.

Most used terms in this debate

How often each word appears across the whole debate, ranked by how distinctive it is to this debate rather than common to all parliamentary language.

cardiovascular 25
disease 13
screening 10
hearts 8
presidency 7
nsac 4
stroke 6
cardiac 5
plan 15
health 13
safe 9
detection 4

The full debate

All 4 contributions, start to finish, in the order they were made. The one you came here for is highlighted.

FG Maria Byrne

I thank the Minister of State for coming to discuss my Commencement matter. My question is about the EU safe hearts plan. Under the plan, every country in the EU is supposed to put in place its own cardiovascular plan. We have not had a proper plan since 2019. The last major plan was from 2010-19. While there is a lot of work being done in the area, I believe we should have a modern EU safe hearts programme. It is about blood pressure, stethoscopes, cholesterol, lipids, diabetes, risk, atrial defibrillation, pulse rhythm checks and proactive follow-up with people who are at high risk.

Ireland is facing the EU Presidency and we have a key role to play. We will hold the Presidency from July to December. I would like an update on what the Minister and Department of Health will do in this area. Even in recent times there have been huge risk factors to do with people with cardiovascular disease and there has been a higher uptick in the number people presenting with conditions. Ireland needs to lead the charge in this area of health. We need a safe hearts plan and a cardiovascular disease strategy. What are the timelines for publication and implementation nationwide? When does the Minister of State expect that to happen? It is about early detection and the relatively low-cost interventions that prevent high-risk crises. That is the key thing here. I look forward to the Minister of State's response.

FF Jennifer Murnane O'Connor this contribution

I thank the Senator. As she said, awareness of cardiovascular disease and strokes is important, as is the face, arms, speech and time, FAST, messaging. The main thing is to get to people quickly. I thank Senator Byrne for facilitating the opportunity to discuss this important matter of cardiovascular disease policy. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, who cannot be here today. Cardiovascular disease encompasses a range of conditions, including heart attack and stroke. It remains a leading cause of death in Ireland and a significant contributor to hospital bed days in our hospitals. Ireland has made progress in tackling cardiovascular disease. Today, cardiovascular disease mortality is about half the level recorded in 1995, but this still accounts for 27.8% of all deaths in Ireland, which is something we are monitoring. The absolute number of cardiovascular disease cases has increased due to the rise in population and Ireland’s ageing demographics.

Work is ongoing to finalise priorities for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It is envisaged that prevention, including for cardiovascular health, will be one of the themes of our Presidency programme. The Minister is saying this will be one of the priorities. Irish officials, working closely with EU colleagues, contributed to the development of a new Council conclusion on the improvement of cardiovascular health, adopted on 3 December 2024, marking a strong political commitment to tackling cardiovascular disease across Europe. On 16 December 2025, the European Commission published safe hearts, the EU cardiovascular plan, whish the Senator spoke about. It is a landmark initiative aimed at reducing premature deaths by improving prevention, early detection and treatment, while also driving innovation.

Ireland contributed to the OECD report, the State of Cardiovascular Health in the European Union, which provided an evidence base for the safe hearts plan as well as sharing a call for evidence with relevant stakeholders. Ireland’s active role in shaping these policies reflects our ambition to strengthen cardiovascular health outcomes for our population and contribute to a healthier Europe. On 8 April 2025, the national review of adult specialist cardiac services in Ireland was published. The comprehensive, evidence-based report provides 23 key recommendations on cardiac health policy. Department officials are now working closely with the HSE to progress the implementation of these recommendations. This is a complex, multi-year reform programme that will ensure a comprehensive and deliverable approach in achieving outcomes.

Cardiovascular health was prioritised in budget 2025, which allocated over €9 million in full-year funding to support vital cardiovascular initiatives. Budget 2025 allocated €4 million for full-year costs, and 45 whole-time equivalents, WTEs, to progress cardiac services. To date, 28 of these 45 WTEs have been prioritised. This investment facilitates the initial steps in cardiac services reform and will support the development of a new cardiovascular strategy as committed to in the programme for Government. In the short term, we will deliver enhanced cardiac services and develop the necessary structures to ensure success in the longer term.

With regard to services for stroke, the national stroke strategy was published in 2022 and over €13 million has been allocated to its implementation to date.

The stroke strategy aims to modernise our stroke services in line with Sláintecare and ensure the future readiness of services, given the ageing demographic and the predicted rise in stroke incidence in coming decades. The Government is committed to supporting our population screening programmes, which are a valuable part of our health service, enabling early treatment and care for many people and improving the overall health of our population.

The national screening advisory committee, NSAC, is the independent expert group that considers proposed changes to Ireland's screening programmes. The NSAC assesses the evidence in a robust and transparent manner to ensure that our screening programmes are effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms. The NSAC has previously received proposals through its call-for-submission process, calling for the introduction of a screening programme for structural heart disease. After reviewing the submissions received, the NSAC decided not to refer the applications for further consideration by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, at this time.

In addition to population-based screening programmes, our GP chronic disease management programme is entering its sixth year of operation. This programme includes opportunistic screening for a range of cardiovascular and other risk factors when patients attend their GP with another condition. The programme has expanded its services based on its success to date. For example, familial hypercholesterolemia will be added to the list of risk factors screened this year.

FG Maria Byrne

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I am delighted that Ireland will be prioritising it as part of our EU Presidency.

The bottom line here is for a new Irish strategy to commit to screening coverage, rapid referral pathways and targeted outreach, especially in deprived areas, because early detection is the fastest route. The Minister of State referred to that. It leads to fewer deaths, less disability and a healthier workforce. That is what we want to achieve here in Ireland.

I thank the Minister of State. I am looking forward to working with her and hearing an update whenever the Department has the final plan.

FF Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Absolutely. The Government welcomes the development of the EU safe hearts plan, which was published in December 2025. The plan offers an opportunity for the EU to strengthen strategies for prevention of cardiovascular disease.

The Senator is correct, in that it is about early detection and prevention, and other diseases have shared common risk factors. We have to be mindful of the latter, too. A flagship initiative, the safe hearts plan, will see the European Commission supporting countries to update or develop national cardiovascular plans in line with EU best practice by 2027, but I will definitely keep the Senator updated. This will support delivery of our programme for Government commitment to develop a national cardiovascular strategy that seeks to address and identify gaps in research, prevention, treatment and access to cardiovascular care.

The safe hearts plan also includes a Council recommendation on the EU-wide standard approach to cardiovascular health checks. This initiative will support national approaches to the development of cardiovascular screening programmes in primary care such as our GP chronic disease management plan.

As Minister of State, I will go back to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I will get the Senator more information on this. It is important that the Senator get dates, times and what the plan is going forward for our EU Presidency. It is important for our country to hold the EU Presidency, and health, as the Senator knows, is so important. I will come back to the Senator when I get more information.

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