Minister for Health announces €2 million in ringfenced funding for women’s health research for 2026 and 2027
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 18 December 2025
- Last updated on: 18 December 2025
The Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD has today announced €2 million in funding for women’s health research. This is the first time Irish research funding has been dedicated specifically to women’s health.
Funding of up to €1 million each year in 2026 and 2027 has been ringfenced from the Women’s Health Fund in her Department. This funding will be allocated to an Applied Partnership Awards scheme in Women’s Health Research which will be administered through the Health Research Board. The investment aims to address a historic gap in knowledge and understanding of women’s health issues and the impact of gender on health outcomes and experiences.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“Historically research into women's health has been overlooked and underfunded, leading to gaps in understanding conditions affecting women, delayed diagnoses, and treatments based on male data.
“Last August, I launched the report Femtech in Ireland: The Case for Prioritising Women’s Health Research and Innovation. That report called for the State to deliver focused funding calls for women’s health research. I am delighted that today I can respond to that call by announcing this significant research programme.
“The funding I have approved will support projects that can help address gaps in knowledge and increase our understanding of women’s health, with the ultimate aim of achieving better health outcomes for women across all stages of life.”
A formal call for research proposals will be launched by the HRB in January, with up to 10 awards to be granted. While the call covers all women’s health areas, specific research themes have also been identified, following stakeholder engagement and listening exercises with women conducted by the Women’s Health Taskforce. The theme selection was also informed by an evidence and gap map analysis conducted by the HRB and published in September 2025.
The specific themes are:
- Postpartum Mental Health, with a particular focus on traumatic births
- Endometriosis
- Menstruation
- Culturally sensitive Healthcare, Intersectional impacts on Women’s Health
The Chief Executive of the Health Research Board Dr Gráinne Gorman said:
“Our recent evidence and gap review across 38 OECD countries, including Ireland, identified clear gaps in women’s health research. By delivering this funding we aim to address those gaps, inform better care and improve outcomes for women.
“The HRB is committed to advancing women’s health research through a co-creation approach. Working in partnership with the public, stakeholders and knowledge users makes research relevant, inclusive and capable of driving real change.”
Historic exclusion of women from medical research has implications for diagnosis and treatment of disease in women, as a result of the lack of knowledge on how particular conditions and treatments impact women.
The Department of Health has been working to address this through its two Women’s Health Action Plans, published in 2022 and 2024. Both Action Plans have a specific action to grow the evidence base for women’s health approaches in Ireland by supporting research in this area.
The women’s health programme has sought to address the research gaps in recent years with a number of research projects supported to better inform the development of policy. The new Applied Partnership Awards in Women’s Health Research represent a more structured and strategic approach to commissioning research in this area.
Notes to Editor:
Ireland’s first Women’s Health Action Plan was published in 2022.
The second Women’s Health Action Plan 2024-2025 Phase 2: An Evolution in Women’s Health was published in 2024.
The HRB review, Women's Health Treatment - Interventions and Outcomes was published in September 2025. This large-scale review examined over 2,000 English-language studies in 38 OECD countries, including Ireland. It highlighted gaps where research can address societal needs and priorities identified by women and revealed substantial gaps in understanding of conditions affecting women including infertility, menopause and mental health after childbirth.