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Women's Health

This week
23rd March 2025 - 29th March 2025
Have you been affected by the delayed free HRT scheme? We want to hear from you
Last week
16th March 2025 - 29th March 2025
'I presume this is free?' Confusion over when women will get long-awaited free HRT from pharmacies
A scheme that would see the State cover the cost of the drug was due to be rolled out in January, but it has yet to be implemented.
Pharmacists said there was “zero consultation” with the sector before the measure was announced as part of Budget 2025.
One pharmacist said the scheme is "a missed opportunity to get equality" in hormonal care for women of all ages.
Meanwhile, the clinical lead of the Rotunda's menopause clinic said supply shortages in some HRT products are currently "a much bigger issue" than cost.
Last month
March 2025
Health Minister meets pharmacies amid confusion and delay over free HRT scheme
This year
2025
Health minister hopes for resolution to delays of free HRT roll out in a 'couple of weeks'
Your Stories: Have you had to travel abroad to access abortion services?
Rotunda pauses service allowing women to talk through their birth experience due to staff shortage
Women who have had difficult births they wanted to talk about have been upset to find the service on hiatus.
Delay in rollout of free HRT scheme criticised as 'slap in the face for thousands of women'
Last year
2024
Around 320,000 women estimated to have accessed free contraception scheme this year
Ireland's first national pelvic floor health clinic opens in Dublin
Free HRT available from January but women will still pay GP and dispensing fees, says minister
'Tax on women': GPs charging for 'free' maternity appointments, despite HSE guidelines
Multiple women say they were charged €70 for basic appointments that are meant to be covered by the State.
Minister contacts GP group after women eligible for free contraception report being charged for it
No women within the eligible age bracket should be charged by their GP, says Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
Minister says he wants free contraception rolled out for all women and girls aged 16 and up
'A disgrace': Women decry efforts to charge them despite free contraception scheme
A video on TikTok prompted dozens of women to share their experiences of being overcharged.
'Held down, lied to, and told to be quiet': Readers' stories of giving birth in Irish hospitals
Alleged medical negligence, understaffing and a lack of empathy were recurring themes in the stories shared.
Have you experienced birth trauma in Ireland, either mental or physical? We want to hear from you
As egg freezing becomes more common, a new study wants to find out what men think about it
How women are treated during pregnancy and when they complain 'isn't good enough', says junior minister
Minister of State for European Affairs says ambitious women are often portrayed as a bad thing.
Minister of State Jennifer Carrroll MacNeill, who has previously spoken about her own experiences with miscarriage, said she found Dáil abortion debate this week 'difficult'
Free contraception to be made available to women up to the age of 35
Over 100 Irish women travelling to Romania for endometriosis surgery every year
All time
'Reproductive fascism': Read the letters calling on Mary Robinson to intervene in X Case
Many people, from Ireland and abroad, contacted the president about the controversial case in 1992.
The X Case centred on a 14-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped
The letters to Robinson highlight how divisise the issue was in Ireland and abroad
'It is with disbelief and disgust that we heard about the young girl who has been forbidden to leave Ireland'
Study pinpoints cause of severe sickness during pregnancy
Rotunda clinical director welcomes new building but says more nurses and midwives needed
Ireland on track to make cervical cancer much rarer by 2040, says health minister
HPV vaccine 'significantly' reduces signs of pre-cancer in young women, study shows
Safe access zone law could be 'made a mockery of' if gardaí can't log warnings, TDs say
Some doctors 'actively obstruct' women from getting abortions, committee hears
Holohan says there is a 'very poor understanding' of what happened in CervicalCheck scandal
Survey finds over half of Irish women fear menopausal symptoms are damaging their relationships
Mary Lou McDonald opens up about having a hysterectomy over the summer
Free contraception scheme expanded to include women aged 27-30
Couples can avail of publicly-funded IVF from September, but age and BMI limits will apply
'I felt experimented on': Survivors protest but vaginal mesh use still not ruled out
Ireland voted for Repeal five years ago, where are we now with abortion services?
Most women do not think they could identify ovarian cancer symptoms, research shows
Total withdrawal of partner access in maternity hospitals 'not appropriate', says HSE
Five years on: First review of Ireland's abortion laws recommends significant changes
Donnelly 'disappointed' about CervicalCheck samples being tested in US labs
Dr Deirdre Lundy: Menopause may be 'natural' but that doesn't mean you have to put up with it
Dr Deirdre Lundy
'Still a long way to go' in removing stigma around menopause in Ireland