An awareness campaign focused on endometriosis will be introduced in schools and workplaces, the Government has announced.
Endometriosis is a long-term condition where tissue resembling the lining of the uterus develops outside the womb, leading to inflammation and the formation of scar tissue within the pelvic area and occasionally in other areas of the body, reports RTE.
It is estimated that more than 200,000 women and girls in Ireland are living with the condition.
The HSE will oversee the programme, which will place particular emphasis on raising awareness about endometriosis as well as broader menstrual health, reports RTE.
Two officers have been appointed to deliver the MISE (Menstrual Information Specialising in Endometriosis) initiative, which has been adapted from a comparable programme previously introduced in New Zealand.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said the programme helps tackle what she called a significant gap in education, reports RTE.
In recent months, several groups have staged protests calling for better care and support in Ireland.
Many people living with endometriosis say they have struggled to obtain a diagnosis in Ireland and have had to travel abroad in order to access treatment, reports RTE.
Last October, the minister released a national framework aimed at addressing challenges related to care, along with a new financial assistance scheme for those who travel overseas for treatment.
Speaking today, Ms Carroll MacNeill said the precise number of people who have gone abroad for treatment is unknown, but there have been 20 applications through the new scheme and ten individuals have travelled so far, reports RTE.
She added that additional treatment options were made available in Ireland during the final three months of last year.
“I asked the clinical community to do 100 more surgeries than was planned. They did 142, they found theatre time and they found additional time within their schedules to be able to do that,” Ms Carroll MacNeill added, reports RTE.
She described endometriosis care in Ireland as a “dual pronged problem”, explaining that waiting lists represent one aspect of the challenge while the other concerns the availability of the specialised surgery required.
“I have talked to women who have had nine, ten, 11, surgeries in Ireland and it is not resolved, and then a surgery in a different clinic internationally has a much better outcome and that’s not OK.
“And that’s why, within the last six months, we’ve seen this leaning in by clinicians,” Ms Carroll MacNeill added, reports RTE.
She said that clinicians in Ireland are now developing greater expertise in this area.
The Department of Health said funding for 65 positions specifically linked to endometriosis services has been ringfenced for 2026, reports RTE.
The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland’s Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (IOG) gathered in Dublin for its Spring Conference, where endometriosis was the central theme.
Chair of the institute Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan welcomed the advancements made in care, but said the condition is “complex” and “often debilitating”, adding that women in Ireland “deserve timely diagnosis, coordinated care, and access to the highest standards of treatment”, reports RTE.
“Endometriosis training in Ireland meets, and often exceeds, the highest international standards, and we continue to work closely with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive to help women to access the best treatment to address their individual needs,” Dr O’Sullivan said, reports RTE.
Labour’s Health Spokesperson Marie Sherlock also welcomed the announcement and told RTÉ News that women and girls in Ireland have endured the issue “for far too long”.
She said it remains worrying that women are still travelling overseas for treatment without State assistance, reports RTE.
“No woman should be forced to leave the country to receive care for a chronic and often life-limiting condition,” Ms Sherlock added, reports RTE.
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