Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2026
1082. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of individuals awaiting access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), per clinic; the average wait time to access PrEP, per clinic, as of December 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11789/26]
View answerSexual health is a priority for the Department of Health.
A national HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programme commenced in 2019, following a HIQA HTA, which concluded that its introduction would be safe, effective, and cost saving. Free PrEP medication is available to individuals who meet clinical eligibility criteria, attending HSE approved PrEP services.
Public PrEP services are delivered through the public network of STI clinics and through some approved private providers. There are currently 13 approved public PrEP services, located in public STI clinics, and 42 private or general practitioner (GP) PrEP providers. Appointments at the 13 public PrEP services are free of charge, however, the private providers charge for consultations.
The population has grown significantly in recent years, and clinical criteria for PrEP eligibility have been widened, increasing the number of people eligible. The number of people eligible to access PrEP has been expanding since inception, with the number of individuals re-imbursed for PrEP at least once expanding from 1763 in 2020 to 7,037 users by the end of 2025. , a year in which an additional 2,196 new PrEP users were added.
While the PrEP service continues to grow, many PrEP services had reached capacity and service users were reporting challenges accessing appointments. In order to expand PrEP services and provide additional supports to our rapidly growing population, we were allocated additional funding of €550,000, through Budget 2025, and an additional €100,000 in 2026, to further support delivery of the PrEP scheme. The total allocation to €6.55m in 2025.
The 2025 allocation included funding for 7WTE to increase capacity for in-person appointments within the PrEP clinics, with all staff in place by October, 2025. In order to increase the number of providers, a PrEP competency framework and eLearning platform has been developed; these can be accessed by GPs with an interest in providing PrEP; numbers have increased substantially in 2025. The free home STI testing service is being used for some routine testing, also expanding capacity.
As waiting lists are a service matter, I have asked the HSE to provide this information to the Deputy as soon as possible.
