Childers criticises government over second rate approach to sexual health services

Posted by Andy White on February 22, 2010 at 01:04 PM

Labour MEP Nessa Childers called on new EU Health Commissioner John Dalli to apply pressure on the Irish government over its “second-rate approach to sexual health,” claiming that poor access and geographic restrictions on sexual health services are contributing to “a burgeoning health catastrophe in Ireland.”   
 
In one of the first questions directed at the recently installed Maltese Commissioner, Childers outlined the sub-standard services currently available in Ireland.
 
"In many parts of my Leinster constituency, particular in its northern counties, people are forced to travel up to 90 kilometres and in some instances pay up to €160 in order to have their sexual health monitored.
 
"1 in 100 people will contract an STI in their lifetime. This is a relatively large statistic, particularly when it is applied to young people. Nationally, notifications for STIs have increased steadily each year since 1994, increasing by 6.5% between 2002 and 2003 for example. Services should exist to provide STI checks free of charge and within easy access of our main towns and cities.
 
"Currently only Carlow and Portlaoise provide a free STI check up in the area I represent. This leaves a large proportion of the constituency, particularly Louth, Meath, Offaly and Kildare, critically under-served by sexual health clinics. These financial and geographical restrictions have no doubt contributed to the sharp rise of infections in Ireland over the past decade or so.
 
"For example, STI clinics at hospitals in Naas, Navan, Drogheda and Dundalk one day a week would serve the needs of these areas and require relatively little investment in infrastructure or staff.
 
"The government already charges almost three times the amount of VAT (13.5%) on condoms as other areas of the EU such as our nearest neighbours in the UK. The government cannot lecture Irish men and women on sexual health when it is not prepared to take the necessary measures to tackle this problem itself. It must pull its head from the sand and act on a burgeoning health catastrophe in Ireland

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