Labour TD Conor Sheehan has called for improved access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Ireland and has called month-long waiting lists for appointments “deeply distressing”.

In Ireland, PrEP is available as a tablet and, when taken correctly, can reduce the risk of HIV from sex by approximately 99%.

PrEP was made available in Ireland in 2019, however many clinics have reported long waiting times for appointments. As The Journal reports, 809 people were on PrEP waiting lists in September 2025.

The publication also reported that one of the two HSE PrEP clinics in Dublin and the North East area had a nine-month-long waiting list in 2025. The other had a four-month-long waiting time.

Meanwhile, in the Dublin and Midlands area, patients at one HSE clinic faced a year-long wait for an appointment.

However, as The Journal reports, some clinics’ waiting periods improved. One Dublin and South East clinic, for instance, released appointments online on a weekly basis. Another reduced waiting times from six months to three.

Deputy Sheehan told The Journal that these waiting times are “deeply distressing”. He also said that it is “unacceptable” for some clinics to be completely closed to new patients, and urged the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to improve access to PrEP services.

For people who are HIV-negative, PrEP reduces the risk of transmission by preventing HIV from entering the body and making copies of itself. It does not offer protection against any other sexually transmitted infections.

Earlier this year, HIV Ireland said the expansion of HIV testing and increased access to PrEP is vital to the success of the Government’s commitment to eliminate HIV transmissions by 2030.

At the time, HIV Ireland were responding to the publication of the National Sexual Health Strategy 2025 – 2035, which included commitments to expand HIV prevention initiatives on a community and clinical level, to improve care pathways for people living with HIV, to emphasise early diagnosis and to address stigma.

HIV Ireland’s Chair Steve Lynam said the strategy can only be achieved by “significantly increasing capacity and resources of providers to ensure anyone who needs access to PrEP can get it without delay”.