Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
673. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to list all public pre-exposure prophylaxis clinics; and to identify the sites in which waiting lists are closed to new self-referrals, in tabular form. [13936/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra674. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the funding allocated to public pre-exposure prophylaxis services to expand capacity, reduce waiting lists and ensure that the waiting lists in all public clinics are open to new self-referrals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13937/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra675. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health if a new model of pre-exposure prophylaxis will be considered, given the strain on existing clinics (details supplied); if she will review this model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13938/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 673 to 675, inclusive, together.
Sexual 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. PrEP medications are free of charge.
The population has grown significantly in recent years, and clinical criteria for PrEP eligibility have been widened, increasing the number of people eligible for PrEP. This number 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 for PrEP has therefore increased to €6.55m in 2026.
The National Sexual Health Strategy, 2025-2035 (NSHS) and National Sexual Health Action Plan, 2025-2038 (NSHAP), commit to developing Models of Care for sexual health and for HIV, to develop an HIV Action Plan and to expand community options for the delivery of PrEP, including widening access through primary care and exploring digital options. The NSHS and NSHAP (included in one document) can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/healthy-ireland/policy-information/national-sexual-health-strategy-2025-2035/
Some progress has been made in these areas already, and further consideration of more options will be included in the Models of Care and HIV Action Plan.
• 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 further 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.
• Following the introduction of training, provider numbers have increased substantially in 2025, with 42 private services now delivering PrEP.
• Further supports for capacity include use of the free home STI testing service for some routine testing.
• The PrEPtimise Study, an HRB funded Evidence for Policy grant, led by researchers and clinicians based in TCD and in St James’s Hospital GUIDE clinic, is looking at the use of a hybrid model for an integrated digital-hybrid clinical service to deliver PrEP, as a way to increase functional capacity. Interim findings indicate that the research is going well.
The details of the national networks of STI clinics, HIV treatment centres and SATUs are available in Appendix 4 of the National Sexual Health Strategy, 2025-35. These details are usually available through the HSE’s www.sexualwellbeing.ie website, www.sexualwellbeing.ie/
However, this is temporarily offline for maintenance.
As the current status of clinic waiting lists and capacity within individual clinics for new self-referrals are service matters, I have asked the HSE to provide this information to the Deputy as soon as possible.
