*Donna McGettigan TD (SF). Photograph: Eamon Ward.
CLARE TD Donna McGettigan (SF) has strongly criticised what she describes as ongoing neglect of women with endometriosis, calling for “gold-standard” care and publicly urging the Government to listen to the voices of those affected.
Endometriosis affects at least one in ten women in Ireland, often causing chronic pain, fertility complications, and delays in diagnosis with many waiting up to nine years to be formally diagnosed. Despite its prevalence, the condition remains poorly understood and under-prioritised in the healthcare system.
Last week, Sinn Féin introduced a bill to the Dáil calling for urgent reform of endometriosis care. The proposed legislation included the establishment of a national centre of excellence, improved access to diagnostics and treatment, clinician training, and a public awareness campaign. It aimed to replace the current fragmented and often delayed care with a gold-standard, multidisciplinary approach.
The Government amended the bill, removing the commitment to a single national centre and instead supporting the continuation of regional hubs. This decision prompted frustration among campaigners and women living with the condition, who viewed it as a watered-down response that ignored the urgency of their needs.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (FG) defended the Government’s approach, saying the regional hub model was designed to provide more localised care and reduce the need for travel. She stated, “What I am interested in is service delivery and the quickest possible way of ameliorating, fixing and making good the sheer lack of service delivery for women’s health that has gone on for so long”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Deputy McGettigan explained the bill was based on extensive public consultation. “This bill came from the voices of those affected, both the women and their families,” she said. “Because this doesn’t just affect women, it affects their families. We had to listen to them. We had to draw that bill up with their voices in it”.
Although Clare has yet to host a meeting of this kind, Donna is hopeful that the visibility created by the bill will encourage women in the county to come forward.
She expressed her disappointment that other Clare epresentatives voted in favour of the Government’s amendment, saying, “I’m more disappointed in the fact that I’m the only female in there and then it looks like it’s all males that voted against it. It’s up to them to face the females in their lives or their constituents and say why they voted against it”.
She also called attention to the disproportionate burden placed on women to publicly share deeply personal stories just to be believed.
“They should never have to give really personal stories out into the public,” she said. “That’s their private business. But because they’re not being believed, that’s what they feel they have to do.”
For McGettigan, the conversation around endometriosis is part of a much larger issue: the continued marginalisation of women’s health in Ireland.
She draws a connection between this latest episode and past failures, including the cervical smear scandal. She believes systemic change is required and that begins with listening to women and reflecting their voices in policy.
She believes the creation of a national centre of excellence is the only way to deliver truly equitable, effective care.
Although the disease primarily affects women, McGettigan emphasised that the responsibility for action must be shared. Family members, including men, often witness the suffering first-hand, and she believes cross-gender political support is vital.
