Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says he wants to stay on in the role after the Government reshuffle at the end of the year.
He told of his political intentions during an interview with the Irish Mirror to mark this month’s landmark roll-out of free contraception for young women.
The Fianna Fail Minister – who worked up to 20 hours a day during the pandemic – told how he wants to continue when power is handed over to Fine Gael in December.
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He said: “I would like to stay on in Health. The only reason to get into politics is to help people. There is no better place to do that than healthcare.”
He let Taoiseach Micheal Martin know he’s keen to keep going, saying: “It’s not my call, obviously, that’s a matter for the party leaders. Each party will decide the briefs – each party leader decides.
“We’ve spent the last two years dealing with Covid. Now we’re building a system capable of dealing with the big challenges.
“We’re doing lots of things across healthcare that have never been done before.
“It’s like a flywheel. It’s speeding up now, but it’s not at full speed.
“That has taken years of relentless focus and engagement and getting the Department and the HSE and the frontline services all working together.
“We’re getting there with Emergency Departments. We’re getting there with waiting lists. It’s all beginning to come together.”
One of the main reasons the Wicklow TD wants to finish the job is his passion project: “To get women’s healthcare sorted.”
Dad-of-three Mr Donnelly is particularly proud of the introduction of free contraception in Ireland, which will start in the coming weeks, initially for the 17 to 25 age group. It will cost €26million for one year alone.
He explained: “It’s about creating a revolution in women’s reproductive health. Changing mindsets as a nation. Introducing sensible, modern healthcare. It makes a massive difference to women and society.
“It’s about empowerment. Giving women the tools they need to live their lives.”
The most modern form available for women are the relatively new long-acting reversible contraceptives which are 99% effective – but cost approximately €400 upfront.
Women had to pay for this, while abortion was made free following its legalisation.
Mr Donnelly said it had to be squared off to ensure Irish women had full control of their reproductive health.
He added: “We’re starting with women aged 17 to 25 and obviously we want to expand that. The expert review group recommended this age group first, due to a combination of crisis pregnancy rate and lower incomes.”
The €26million spend is larger than the entire national cancer strategy.
Mr Donnelly said: “It’s hoped those coming into it now at 18 will see the funding move quicker than their age.
“It will become totally normal for contraception to be free and to younger generations, it will be an absurdity that women ever had to pay for it.”
It is one of a suite of measures he has brought in to modernise women’s healthcare.
Aside from bringing in free contraception – which took years of work following the Repeal referendum in 2018 – he has overseen the opening of menopause, fertility, endometriosis and see-and-treat clinics nationwide.
The former engineer – married to academic Susan Leavy – credits the strong women in his life with making him “acutely aware” of it.
He added: “I need a framework, so I looked at it through the life cycle.
“Mental health, physical health, gynaecological, maternity health, menopause, chronic disease. Endometriosis was getting nothing. Now we have six such clinics across the country, where there were none. Same with fertility.”
Feedback from women themselves is what he most values.
The Greystones resident said: “I got stopped by a woman in Delgany, who said her life had been destroyed by menopause. She told me after she’d been to one of the new clinics, she felt 20 years younger.
“We were in the Dark Ages on women’s healthcare. Years of underinvestment and stigma.
“It’s clear as day Ireland has never invested in it in the way it should.
“It was totally unacceptable. Yet we do incredibly well in many other areas of healthcare. World class. How did that happen? We know how it happened. Because of Ireland’s history in how it treated women.
“When contraception was illegal, it caused damage to women.
“Now we’ve gone from a place of it being illegal, to it being free.”
Mr Donnelly says the events in the US, with the overturning of Roe v Wade that guaranteed abortion rights, shows: “We can never take what we have for granted.
“Here, we are moving in the opposite direction. We’re expanding the provision of abortion services from 10 hospitals to 15. Making contraception free. And securing safe access zones around hospitals.”
The issue of such zones – where protesting will be banned around 100 metres of every hospital, GP clinic and well-woman centre has raised concerns around breaches of the right to protest, freedom of assembly and expression of religious beliefs.
Mr Donnelly said: “These are core tenets of our society – incredibly important. If you’re looking at creating zones that doesn’t allow that, you have to be careful. It’s about balance.
“Do you have freedom to intimidate a woman seeking services? I would say you don’t.
“Gather outside the Dail, march on the streets, go on the TV. But if women have made the decision to access those services, leave them alone.”
Now he wants to finish what he started in health, despite getting through the work overload of Covid.
He said: “In the height of Covid we were doing 18/20 hour days. It’s still intense. We’re working on bariatrics, monkeypox, making an emergency plan for the autumn. It requires full attention. But there’s nothing else I’d want to be doing.”
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