Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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886. To ask the Minister for Health the status of action 15.1 of the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy 2019-2021 to update the National Sexual Health Strategy in 2020 to include the needs of the LGBTI+ community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45174/20]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Organisations representing the LGBTI+ community are key stakeholders in the implementation of the National Sexual Health Strategy (NSHS) and Ministers and officials from my Department have met several times with such organisations in recent years, including the Gay Health Network, ACT UP, BeLonG To, and Pride festival organisers.

Support for sexual health initiatives is provided by the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP). The SHCPP is also in regular contact with relevant LGBTI+ stakeholders and organisations.

Key initiatives delivered under the National Sexual Health Strategy and of clear benefit to the LGBTI+ community include HIV Ireland's MPOWER and the Man2man programmes, the HIV Fast Track Cities initiative, the national PrEP programme, expansion of the National Condom Distribution Service and expansion of the HPV Vaccination scheme to included gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men as part of wider public STI and HIV related services.

The Deputy will be aware that 2020 was intended to be the final year in the lifetime of the current NSHS.

It had been envisaged that the Department of Health and the HSE Sexual Health Crisis Pregnancy Programme would, in 2020, review the position with regard to the future direction of the Strategy. However, it was necessary to postpone this work due to the urgent need to mobilise and prioritise resources in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is the intention of this Department that the review of the NSHS will take place as soon as possible in 2021. While the outcome of this review will determine the future direction of the Strategy, it will also be necessary to ensure that any remaining work items arising from the current Strategy continue to be implemented.

In light of this, officials from my Department recently wrote to the Interim Programme Lead for the HSE SHCPP, suggesting that we extend the lifetime of the current NSHS to the end of 2021, and requesting that the HSE take any necessary measures to incorporate this into the service planning process.

Consultation with the relevant stakeholders, including those organisations representing the LGBTI+ community, will be carried out as a key element of the review process.